


Double Sync

by Ladyelle



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Denial of Feelings, Eventual Sex, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Game Spoilers, Masturbation, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Sex, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-01-07 06:39:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 34,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12227607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyelle/pseuds/Ladyelle
Summary: You and Desmond go into the Animus together, will he finally win your heart or push you away?





	1. Chapter 1

**'Error 295'**

You sighed as you glared at the computer screen, quietly hissing and thinking it was mocking you as the same message popped up again. Grabbing the can of energy drink that was next to you on the desk, you growled as you found it was empty, before crushing it and tossing it into the bin next to you.

_*Click*_

Your eyes flickered to where the noise came from before letting out an exasperated groan, turning back to your keyboard and began typing frantically yet again.

_*Click*_

You were becoming more and more agitated as you hit the enter key, the error message popping up and taunting you for what felt like the umpteenth time tonight.

_*Click*_

"Will you please stop that Miles!! Can't you see I'm trying to concentrate?! You'll go blind if you keep playing with it like that you know."

Slamming your fists on the desk, you turned and glared at Desmond who was sat at the opposite desk, long legs propped up on the edge of it and flicking out his hidden blade.

"I'm just so booooored. Maybe you should come and play with it, might help your stress levels."

Scowling as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, you turned back to your computer, and rammed in yet another USB quite forcefully.

"Hmmph, tempting, but I think I'll pass thank you."

You brought up another programme when the files had finally loaded, your fingers frantically running over the keys like a woman possessed.

_*Click*_

"Miles!!!!"

"C'mon (name), just gimmie the keys to your motorbike, I'll get out your hair for a bit. And don't call me Miles, you know I hate it."

Grumbling to yourself as you got up and walked over to the small tabletop fridge over in the corner, you pulled out another can of energy drink and took a deep gulp before turning back to Desmond with an irritated glare.

"Fabulous idea, only one small problem. Did you forget the entirety of Abstergo is looking for you? Miles?"

You smirked as he winced at you calling him that again, licking your finger and drawing a number one in the air. Slumping back down at your desk, you rubbed your temples hard as the blue screen flickered at you, wracking your brain to remember the code you had written a few weeks before.

Without your notes it was extremely difficult to hack into the Animus, but when William called and said he needed your help immediately with something, you had jumped on your bike and made your way over here quickly, not even thinking about bringing them with you.

"Suppose you have a point. But come on, surely it's not that hard to do, whatever it is your doing, aren't you some kind of computer genius?"

"You think it's easy trying to get two people synched into the same memory at the exact same time?! If you think you can do it, be my guest."

Your face twisted in horror as you threw your arms around your monitor in protection, when you saw Desmond get up and crack his knuckles, advancing towards you with a wicked grin.

"I was kidding! Don't you dare touch my computer!"

You breathed a sigh of relief when Rebecca and Shaun walked in, carrying several bags of delicious smelling Chinese food.

"What's going on?" 

Shaun looked at you, quite amused at seeing you grasping hold of your computer as if your life depended on it, while dropping the bag he was carrying on the nearby counter. Realising you most likely looked like an idiot, you let go and cleared your throat, making your way over to rummage through one of the bags to find your chow mein.

"About time you got back, I'm not here to babysit."

Desmond scowled at you as he pulled a seat up next to you, before grabbing out his own food, and tucking in as if he hadn't eaten in months.

"Well we had to be careful, Abstergo could be anywhere, plus Shaun drives like a little old woman."

You burst out laughing as Rebecca grinned at her own joke, poking Shaun in the ribs as he pouted at being made fun of.

"You can never be too careful, that's what I always say! How's the code coming along (name)?"

Grimacing as you poked at your chow mein with your chopsticks, your appetite suddenly leaving you at the thought that you might actually fail at something for the first time since you joined the assassins.

"Not good. They've put up new encryption that's blocking everything I try, if I just had my ledger, I could break through it."

"It's too dangerous (name) can't risk you going back home, you know Abstergo are watching your apartment. We'll have a bash together after we've finished dinner."

You managed to scrape together a smile as Rebecca tried to lift your spirits a bit, feebly picking at your noodles as you went into your own little world, trying to remember the damned sequence that would achieve your goal.

 

Chewing on your pencil as you tapped your fingers on the pad of notes that you and Rebecca had done earlier, you scrunched your face up and scribbled out a chunk of numbers that was obviously wrong. Taking another swig out of the can sat on the desk, you threw the pad on top of the keyboard and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Don't you ever sleep?"

Your eyes flicked up to the clock on the wall, slightly shocked to see it was just after half three in the morning. Not even bothering to turn around, you pushed the pad to one side and pulled the keyboard onto your legs as you brought your knees up to your chest.

"No Miles I don't, especially when I've got a lot of work to do."

"Not surprised when you keep chugging all that energy drink, I'm amazed you've not got the shakes."

Glancing at all the empty cans littered over your desk and typing with one hand, you raised your right one behind you, holding it completely steady for a moment before dropping it to continue with your work.

"Nope, never have. Just like the taste of it. Oh for the love of god!!"

**'Error 295'**

You smashed your hands on the keyboard as the infernal message pinged up again, turning your head slightly as you heard Desmond dragging his feet to stand behind you. Your breath stuck in your throat as he leaned over you and began pressing a few keys, turning your head slightly to notice that he wasn't wearing anything apart from thin grey jogging bottoms. You bit your bottom lip and fixed your gaze on the tattoos on his arm as he typed, trying to control the fluster that threatened to raise up your face.

**'Code Accepted. Ready for synchronization'**

Doing a double take at the screen, your mouth dropped as you saw the message flicker up, your words strangling in your throat as Desmond chuckled behind you.

"Wait... wha... how??!!"

"Can't be around you geeks for so long and not pick up a few things."

You turned around still completely aghast at what he had just done, the blush that you managed to control now furiously rising over your face as you looked at him, your concentration going straight out the window. Desmond smirked as he saw your eyes flicker over him, folding his arms as he propped himself up against the nearby wall.

"Don't think I've ever seen you blush before (name)."

Quickly turning back to the screen, you took a deep breath and stared at what he had entered, trying to find your mistake instead of focusing on him.

"I'm not blushing, just a bit pissed with myself for making a schoolboy error."

"Sure you are... Noticed that you needed a 2 instead of the 1 then?"

Your eyes flicked to the top of the screen and saw that he had indeed changed your coding to allow for two people to enter the Animus instead of just the one. Turning back to him, you scowled as he was still smirking at you as he walked back over to you and pulled you up out of your chair.

"Now that's fixed, how about you have a nap? You look like shit and it's too quiet in there without you mumbling while you sleep."

"Geez Miles, make a girl feel special why don't you?"

You glared at him as you pulled out of his grasp, making your way down the corridor to your shared room and slumping ungraciously onto the sleeping bag next to the window. Staring at the concrete wall of the warehouse as Desmond followed you in and closed the door, you quietly cursed yourself for letting yourself get flustered around him earlier. Sure he was attractive, but he was an arrogant, spoilt idiot, dedicated as he was to the cause, you didn't think he was taking it seriously.

Turning over and trying to get comfortable on the hard floor as Desmond slumped on his own bag, you felt a pang of jealousy at his ability to fall asleep so quickly. You jumped up as you saw your phone light up beside you, grabbing it and silently opening the door as you answered it.

"William? I thought I would be the only one awake this time of night. What's up?"

_"Its 4pm in Singapore. Have you fixed the Animus?"_

You stared at the door to your room as you clicked it shut behind you, rubbing your forehead in slight guilt with what you were about to say.

"Of course I did, I'm astounded that you would think I hadn't."

<em>"I knew I could count on you. Desmond, is he safe?"

"Yes, for now. It won't be long till they find us though."

_"I know. My flights tomorrow, I'll be there soon."_

Pressing the end call button, you softly snuck back in the room and slid back into the bag, pulling it tightly around you to stave away the cold. Your mind unintentionally flicked back to the image of Desmond as he stood in front of you half dressed, making you warm up instantly. You knew he had done it on purpose to make you blush, there's no chance in hell that the temperature in here would warrant wearing just jogging bottoms.

You squeezed your legs tightly together as the dull throbbing between them began to grow, cursing to yourself quietly growling at getting so wound up at the image of a man, who you thought was completely incompetent and definitely not your type.

"Damnit Miles, get out of my head..."

After shuffling about for about a minute, you finally managed to start drifting off to sleep, completely unaware that the man next to you had heard what you said, and was falling asleep with a smug grin on his face.

 

 

Clicking on the coffee machine, you stood rubbing the sleep out of your eyes before checking your watch for the time.

6: 53 am... 

Wow, you must have been more tired than you thought, it had been a while since you had more than two hours sleep in one stint. You had never needed much rest, even as a child you were content with only having two or three naps a day. This was one of the reasons you had done so well at MIT, managing to get far more work done than the rest of your colleagues. Being so high in the ranks of the institution was one of the reasons William had recruited you into the Brotherhood, the others being your bloodline, and your infatuations with the Renaissance, and Colonial America.

 

You looked up as you saw Rebecca walk in groggily, nearly smacking Shaun in the face who was close behind her as she stretched out. Grabbing three mugs you started pouring the coffee, grinning as Rebecca slumped on the counter.

"I don't know how you do it (name), I've had six hours and I can barely function. What time did you go to bed?"

Chuckling as you slid two of the mugs across the counter to your half-dead colleagues, you perched yourself on the stool next to you, flicking through your notepad as you sipped your own coffee.

"A little after four. William called, he's on his way back today."

"Excellent, we better get cracking if we're to get everything ready before he gets here. The power is all up and running for the Animus, when you manage to get in."

Your eyes flicked up to Shaun when you realised he was talking to you looking slightly sheepish as you turned to your computer.

"Were in."

"You did it? Oh my god (name) you're brilliant!"

Rebecca jumped up to give you a quick hug, before darting over to your desk and flopping in the chair, eager to see what you had done.

"It wasn't me. Miles did it."

You jumped as you heard a smash, turning to see that Shaun had managed to knock his coffee onto the floor in his tired, surprised state. Throwing him a roll of paper towels, you turned back to Rebecca, whose face was also dropped in shock.

"Desmond?? But he doesn't know the first thing about computers, or coding!"

Shrugging your shoulders as you got up to refill your mug, you realised that you were still slightly annoyed that he had managed something that you couldn't.

"Dunno, he just said he'd picked up on a few things while watching me work. Good job he did, or we wouldn't be where we are now. Suppose I better get dressed, we've got an Animus to get into."

Shaun and Rebecca threw each other knowing glances and smirked as you left the room to get dressed, wondering how you could be so blind to the advances of the man you were about to go into the Animus with.

 

"Right, everything's set up. Desmond, you'll be going in as Connor, (name) we've located your Great, Great, Great, Great....."

"I think we get the gist, Shaun."

You giggled as you lay back next to Desmond, watching Shaun's face drop and fiddle with his glasses at Rebecca interrupting him.

"Ahem. As I was saying... Great-grandmother, Isabella Greene. She was at the homestead at the same time as Connor, if we got the year right."

"What do you mean if?!"

Rebecca sat down at her laptop next to you, putting in her earpiece and booting it back up.

"There's not a lot of information about her (name), we did the best we could. Fingers crossed we nailed it. Ready?"

*"Ready"*

You turned to look at Desmond as he spoke at the same time as you, throwing you a wink before turning away and closing his eyes. Closing your own with a huff, you turned your head and watched the swirls of light and images of broken glass behind your lids as you entered the Animus.


	2. Chapter 2

You opened your eyes to see that you were outside the Davenport homestead, staring up at the sky. You didn't think you would ever get used to this, being in the Animus. You could feel the roughness of the log you were sitting on, the heat of the sun on your face, but you weren't in control, like watching a scene through someone else's eyes.

"Achilles! Over here!"

Getting up off the log, you walked towards the manor to where Achilles was standing with a man you didn't recognise. He was wearing a long white and blue coat with the hood pulled up to shield his face, and a bow slung over his shoulder. As you got closer, the man's face finally came into view, and your heart skipped a beat as you finally identified him.

"Connor? I didn't recognise you for a moment! Those clothes suit you."

He pulled his hood down so you could see his face, smiling at you softly before turning back to Achilles.

"Thank you, Isabella. Can I ask what we are doing here?"

"Isabella will help you with your training with the blades I have given you. All Assassins must learn how to master them, and she is one of the most capable people here to show you."

You looked at Connor nervously; he didn't seem pleased at this information, it was apparent that Achilles hadn't mentioned it to him before now.

"More training? Charles Lee is still out there, and I would be making better use of my time going after him than being here."

Achilles looked exasperated at hearing Connor try and defy him yet again, banging his cane on the floor as he raised his voice slightly.

"You will do as you are told, Connor. I have said before that you are not yet ready to face Charles Lee, should you go against him now, you will most likely lose."

You tried not to laugh as he swung out his cane and tripped Connor up, sending him crashing to the ground and proving his point. Reaching out to help him up, you couldn't help but feel a pang of hurt as he ignored you, looking annoyed as he brushed himself off.

"I was not ready."

"Do you think Lee will wait for you to be ready? Train. Now. I will be back later."

Watching Achilles walk away, you turned to Connor, sighing as you saw him still scowling.

"Come on, no point in arguing, I'd have thought you'd have known better by now."

You walked towards the training ground, glancing behind you to make sure he was following, stopping as you came to the open area for sparring.

"I know you know how to assassinate quickly and cleanly, but do you know how to fight with your blade?"

"I do not need a blade to fight, I have my Tomahawk and my bow."

Watching him smirk as he patted at his hip, you flicked out your blades and stood firmly in your fighting stance.

"Very well, your bow is no good for this, so let's see how you do with your Tomahawk."

Pulling out his weapon, he advanced towards you quickly, attacking with years of experience. This was definitely a lot harder than you thought it was going to be, his strength and precision nearly overwhelming you several times. You managed to parry off his blows until you eventually saw your opportunity to strike, catching your blade underneath the head of his tomahawk and pulling hard, it slipped out of his grasp and flew through the air to land in the long grass nearby.

Flicking out his blade and becoming annoyed at being disarmed, Connor advanced on you again, but with a lot less skill than before. Catching his arm as he lunged towards you, you swept your leg behind his, pushing him back as his legs fell from underneath him, sending him tumbling to the ground. Leaning over and grabbing your knees as you caught your breath, your eyes glanced towards Connor who was slowly sitting up, looking slightly embarrassed.

"I am sorry Isabella, it seems that you were right. I thank you for pointing out the error of my ways."

Grinning as you extended your hand to help him up again, your breath hitched as he took it, pulling himself up to stand close to you.

"It's not a problem Connor, we can't possibly better ourselves until we know what we need to improve on and please, call me Isa. Surely we know each other well enough for that by now."

A faint blush rose up your face as you realised he was still holding your hand, smiling gently at you.

"Isa. I have never seen you hunt before, do you know how to?"

"Erm, can't say that I do...."

A wicked grin crept up his face as he pulled you into a run, heading towards the forest. He let go as he scaled a tree on the outer edge, silently climbing up into the canopy. You followed him up almost as swiftly, admiring the way he swung through the branches with ease. He suddenly stopped and pressed his finger to his lips, creeping forwards slowly. You tried to look around him to see what he had found, but you could see nothing. Edging closer, you spied a rustling in the bushes below, and in a fraction of a second, he had jumped down, impaling the deer in the neck cleanly and killing it instantly. Leaping down next to him, Connor looked up, beaming with pride after saying a small prayer that you didn't quite understand.

"Wow... That was....amazing!"

"Thank you, Isa. This is not enough to feed everyone in the Homestead, would you like to try?"

Biting your lip, you nodded but were slightly unsure that you could do as well as a member of the Mohawk tribe.

"I'd like to try, if you wouldn't mind showing me what to do?"

Your heart jumped again as he took your hand and pulled you into the bushes, quietly working your way through until he suddenly stopped. He pulled something out of his pocket and scattered it over the ground several feet in front of you, pressing his finger over his lips again as he watched the space intently. It didn't take long before you heard the sound of rustling, and a huge elk emerged from behind the trees to feast upon the bait that Connor had strewn about. He turned to you and gestured for you advance, which you did, silently flicking out your blade as you crept forwards. When you were only a few metres from the huge beast, you tensed up ready to lunge out, but a twig snapped under your foot as you moved, making it startle as you lept forwards.

Before you had any chance to react, the elk swung its head fiercely, its antler catching you in the chest and hurling you towards a tree before fleeing back into the forest.

"Isa!"

You barely heard Connor call out as you hit the trunk full on with a loud thud, making the wind knock out from you and your head swim. Feeling strong arms wrap around your back and under your legs, your hand gingerly pressed against your chest where the elk had caught you, bringing it up close to your eyes to see blood on your fingertips. You felt yourself being lifted as your head started to come back into clarity, the intense pain beginning to ravage you with every movement.

"Connor?"

"Everything will be alright Isabella, Achilles will help you."

With Connors fast pace, it didn't take long before you got back to the manor, Achilles face twisting with worry as you were carried inside and to one of the rooms upstairs.

"What on earth happened? Go and fetch me my medial chest, and hurry."

You tried to sit up as Connor lay you down on the bed, but the pain stopped you from doing so.

"Connor was teaching me how to hunt. It didn't go very well as you can see, an elk got the better of me."

Achilles shook his head as he sat down next to the bed helping you pull off your shirt so he could tend to your wound. Thankfully it wasn't too bad from what you could see; a shallow but long gash snaked over your ribs, and a large welt that was already beginning to darken covering most of your right side. You looked up as Connor came running back in with a small chest, immediately skidding to a halt and looking at the wall as he noticed your unclothed form.

"It doesn't look like anything is broken, you were fortunate Isabella. Come on now boy I haven't got all day, we need to get her cleaned up. Please help her sit so I can dress the wound."

Connor looked extremely flustered as he handed Achilles the box and sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning over to wrap his arm around and lift you gently up and turning you to face the side. He winced as his eyes flickered over your torso, finally taking in your injury.

"I am very sorry, I shouldn't have let you take on an animal so large for your first time. We should have hunted rabbit or fox instead."

You grimaced as Achilles began tightly winding a bandage around your ribs, thankful that it didn't also need to be sewn up.

"It's okay. I've had a lot worse, trust me. It was my own fault for making it startle."

Looking up to see Connors' eyes drift downwards, he raised his eyebrows in surprise as he noticed the marks littering your stomach.

"You have children?"

"Yes, I have a son, Isaac. He's two years old and lives with my sister in England. It became too dangerous for him here when the war began, so I did what I thought was right to keep him safe."

He lay you back down on the bed once Achilles had finished with the bandage, pulling the blanket over you to cover your modesty.

"You need to rest Isabella. Connor, you will be in charge of taking care of her, as it was your reckless actions that caused this."

Connor looked ashamed as Achilles got up and left, pulling the door to behind him.

"You do not seem old enough to have a child, where is his father?"

"I'm three years older than you believe it or not. I have no idea where his father is, we were together since we were young, but he ran away as soon as he found out I was with child."

Yawning slightly at the weariness of the day started to creep up on you, you rose your eyebrows as Connor got up and headed towards the door.

"I am sorry to hear that Isa. You need to sleep, and I must go back to retrieve the deer for dinner tonight. I will be back soon."

You smiled softly as he left, closing your eyes and attempted to get some sleep through the pain in your ribs.

 

A few hours later, you were woken at the click of the door, and Connor coming back with a plate of food. Glancing around and slowly sitting up, you saw that it was now night time, slightly shocked that you had managed to sleep for so long.

"How are you feeling now? You missed dinner, so I brought you something to eat." 

You took the plate he handed to you, eating quite quickly as your stomach began growling at the smell of deer and vegetables wafting up your nose.

"A lot better, it hardly hurts."

Connor smiled as he sat down on the edge of the bed, quite surprised that you had managed to eat so fast.

"You are very resilient Isa, an excellent quality in a warrior."

You blushed as you set your knife and fork back down on your now empty plate, and placing it down on the small side table next to the bed. Your eyes flickered over him in the dim light as you did so, finally noticing that he was no longer wearing his robes, but a simple tunic and trousers, and his hair was let down.

"That is an enormous compliment coming from you, thank you."

Feeling slightly emboldened at his praise, you lifted your hand and pressed it against his cheek, making him flinch slightly, and his honeyed skin turn pink. You pulled it back quickly, somewhat embarrassed that you might have overstepped your bounds.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Your heart began to beat wildly as he picked up your hand and placed it on his cheek again, turning it a deeper shade of crimson as he lowered his head and spoke in a whisper.

"I am not uncomfortable, just... surprised. I have never felt a woman's touch before, other than my mother's. It is very nice."

You were a bit confused at what he had just said, until it suddenly became clear as he continued to hold your hand on his face. Your eyes widened slightly as you moved your hand to underneath his chin and tilted it up, the fluttering in your stomach becoming almost unbearable as you gazed at his nervous face.

"Connor.. could i... give you a kiss?..."

You held your breath as you watched him tense up, before nodding slightly and shuffling himself closer to you on the bed. Closing your eyes as you leaned towards him, you gently pressed your lips against his, feeling him immediately shudder under your touch. You were pleasantly surprised; his lips were softer than you had imagined, you had expected them to be slightly rough as he spent most of his time outdoors. You were just about to pull away, when you felt his hand lightly stroke the back of your head, and his tongue flick against the seam of your lips, just briefly, making you twitch. Parting your lips as he did it again, you heard a small moan erupt from his throat, encouraging you to deepen the kiss slightly.

Laying your hand on his chest, you could feel his rapid heartbeat as you inhaled deeply, his earthy scent serving to make your attraction for him deepen. Finally pulling away, you opened your eyes to see that most of his nervous expression had melted away, to be replaced with a mix of slight content and arousal.

"That was very... pleasant Isa. I would like to do it again."

Smiling as you leaned into him again, you felt his arm gently wrap around you as you closed your eyes, swirls of light and shattered glass enveloping you......

 

 

Your chest was pounding as your eyes fluttered open, turning your head to see Rebecca and Shaun trying not to smirk at you.

"Well, that was......."

_"Intense"_

You turned to face the other way as Desmond spoke at the same time as you, his face rather flustered as you assumed yours was.

"Geez guys, coulda warned us."

Wincing as you tried to sit up, Rebecca ran over to help you as you clutched your chest in agony.

"It's the bleeding effect. It must be a lot stronger with both of you in there at the same time, it should go in an hour or two. We couldn't warn you of anything as we said, we don't have that much info on Isabella, and we don't know anything about Connor's memories until Desmond goes into the Animus."

Grimacing as you finally managed to stand, you couldn't stop the backflips in your stomach, or your heartbeat quickening as you looked over at Desmond.

"Only an hour or two eh? Great. So how come we dropped out of the memory?"

"Power surge, it takes a lot to keep you both in, we'll have to do it in stints from now on."

You turned to look at Shaun, who was staring at his monitor and typing something, trying his damned hardest to stop the grin spreading over his face.

"Oh grow up Shaun. It's not like that was me and Miles doing that."

You glanced over at Desmond out of the corner of your eye, seeing that he was deep in thought, and had been unusually quiet since coming out of the Animus until now.

"Rebecca, how long till we can go back in?"

"Eager to get back in are we? A couple of hours at least, (name) needs to rest until the bleeding effect wears off, and we need to stabilise the power."

Scowling at Rebecca as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, you gingerly made your way to your room and flopped on your sleeping bag, trying to calm the hundreds of images swimming through your mind. Brilliant, it was bad enough that Desmond kept popping into your thoughts before, but the effect had only intensified the scrambled emotions in you.

Hoping that this wouldn't last long, you turned on your side and closed your eyes, trying to ignore the warm flutterings in your stomach as you tried to fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

A couple of hours later you woke up, sighing as the pain in your chest had finally subsided, but the knot in your stomach hadn't. Rebecca had said it would only take a few hours, so why hasn't it stopped?

Dragging yourself up, you made your way to the makeshift kitchen workspace, to see Rebecca, Shaun and Desmond engrossed in conversation at the counter. Clearing your throat as you heard your name mentioned, all three of them turned around, Rebecca and Shaun looking slightly sheepish, and Desmond embarrassed.

"Hey there sleeping beauty, how ya feeling?"

You smirked at Rebecca as you sat down beside her, swiping her cup and taking a large swig, grimacing as you swallowed.

"Urgh, cream. A lot better thanks, the pains gone. So... What were you all talking about?"

"Erm, nothing really, just discussing the Animus, and the problems with the power. Speaking of which, Rebecca we had better check on it."

Your eyes narrowed at Shaun as he got up and left quickly, Rebecca following swiftly behind, leaving you and Desmond alone. Getting up to grab yourself a decent cup of coffee, you couldn't help but notice Desmond was slightly pale, and was following your every movement.

"You alright Miles? Look like you've seen a ghost."

He shuffled in his seat, fidgeting and now looking slightly embarrassed as he finally spoke.

"(Name), how have you been feeling since we left the Animus?"

You froze for a moment, and your breath quickened as you clicked onto what he was talking about. You hadn't given it a second thought that he might have been feeling the same, you were in the same memory together after all. Taking a few deep breaths to calm yourself, you put on your best poker face and took a sip of your drink.

"Fine, apart from the raging pain that I had in my chest. Why?"

"No reason, just wanted to check that you were still okay to go back in. We don't have long to find the secrets of the vault."

Sitting down across from him, without even thinking you reached out slightly and lay your hand on top of his, pulling it back quickly when as soon as you touched him, tingles ran up your arm and your heart began to beat wildly. You looked back up to his face, to see his eyes widened, and a slight tug of a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. Those lips...

Shaking your head and clearing your throat, you finally managed to control your fluster, and act as if nothing happened.

"I'm fine, we'll figure everything out, don't worry. So, this bleeding effect, what does it actually do? I know you learnt how to fight through Ezio, and you sometimes relive memories outside the Animus, but that's it."

"Its different for everyone. Some people have visions of their ancestors memories, most go mad though from what Lucy told me. Like me, you can meld with the memories and gain their knowledge and experience. Others....."

You noticed he kept staring at his hand as he spoke, the slight smile growing into a smirk as he trailed off.

"Others....?"

"In rare cases, it can intensify suppressed emotions."

Intensi..... Oh no. No no no... You didn't have... no. Surely not. You cant... Shit.

Now you realised what he was smirking at, your knee-jerk reaction to touching him only made him more sure of it. You bit your bottom lip and your brow furrowed as the panic ran through your head.

"(Name), (name), you okay?"

You looked up to see him full of genuine concern at your reaction to what he said, so you plastered on your best fake grin and drank the rest of your coffee in one swallow as you got up.

"Yeah I'm alright, don't think I'm going mad, and I definitely don't have any 'suppressed emotions' so we're all good. Suppose we better get back in and find out where the key is to that damned vault."

Clenching your fists as you walked past him and made your way back to the room where Rebecca and Shaun were waiting, your fake smile immediately dropped as the image of shirtless Desmond drifted in your head again. You didn't have time for this, you didn't need it, or want it. Did you? Everything from the neck down said yes, only your brain was left, screaming out that it wasn't a good idea, until all you could think about was how soft his lips would feel against yours.

'Shit...'

 

"Ready to try again? We've gone forward a bit, obviously, we were too early in the memories."

You nodded to Shaun as you lay back down, wondering what the hell you were getting yourself into as you closed your eyes and entered the Animus alongside Desmond again.

 

 

Opening your eyes, you quickly realised that you were in Boston, leaning up against the wall of the Tavern with your arms crossed. Smiling as Connor came into view, you pushed yourself off the wall and made your way over to him with a questioning look, as you didn't recognise the man who was with him.

"Isa, this is Stephane, he will be helping us from now on."

Nodding as you shook the man's hand, your eyes widened as you noticed that Connor had a spattering of blood up his sleeve.

"Everything okay? Did you find out what William Johnson was up to?"

"Yes. I was helping our friend here deal with a theft problem. We need to go to Griffins Wharf, if we destroy his cargo, he will no longer have the money attack my village."

Following Connor and Stephane through the streets that were in the ends of a riot, you met up with a man who you assumed was Samuel Adams, by the way Connor described him, and several Patriot protesters along the way.

"Connor, perhaps it's best you lead the way?"

Samuel gestured for him to take the lead, which he did, holding himself back slightly to fall into stride next to you. It took him a few moments to speak to you, as you noticed he was sizing you up, trying to determine if you would be an asset or not.

"Samuel Adams ma'am. I assume you are an acquaintance of Achilles also?"

Taking his hand briefly as he extended it, you sped up slightly as the rest of the group began to pull away as you neared the docks, getting ready to fight as numerous redcoats were spotted guarding the ships.

"My mother is ma'am, you may call me Isabella. The answer the question you are thinking, I have been with the Brotherhood for some time now, and yes, I am quite capable. Now let's leave the idle natter for another time, shall we? We have cargo to destroy."

Running over to where the rest of the men were standing, you stood next to Connor who was giving out orders, leaving Mister Adams quite dumbfounded as he eventually caught you up.

"I see fifteen guards. Isa, you will help me take out the soldiers then lead the men to destroy the cargo, I will fend off anyone who tries to stop us."

Flicking out your blades, you broke out into a sprint behind Connor, taking advantage of the guards distraction at the disgruntled mob that was getting larger by the minute. Between the two of you, it didn't take long to either incapacitate or kill the patrol, making the way clear for the other men to join you. Calling over to three of the Patriots, you began hurling the crates of tea into the water, rendering it useless for trade or consumption.

Just as you picked up one of the last few crates, you turned around quickly as a gunshot rang out close to you, to see a redcoat who was running towards you with his sword drop to the ground, dead. Looking around as you pushed the box over the side, a grin crept up your face as you spied Connor hanging off the rigging with a musket in hand, smiling at you softly.

Walking over to stand next to him when he jumped down to take the last crate from Stephane, you lay a hand on his shoulder as you followed his gaze to the other side of the docks, where you spotted Johnson and Lee watching their cargo be destroyed. Connors body stiffened under your touch as he hovered the box over the water for a second, before letting it tumble out of his fingers, straight to the depths below.

"We did it!" Adams exclaimed as he patted Connor on the back.

Samuel stood for a moment, his face creasing into a smirk as he glanced between you and Connor for a second, before calling to the Patriots to disband.

"Very well done, that should put a stop to them for now. May I suggest we leave this place, before more soldiers turn up?"

Pulling Connor away from his glaring at Lee, you took his hand and led him back to the carriage that would take you back to the Homestead. He was silent for the entire ride back, deep in thought even when you got to your room and undressed for bed. Kicking off your coat, boots and trousers, you both slid under the covers in your usual position, facing each other with his arm under your head, his fingers lacing through your hair.

"We did a good thing today, so why are you so sad?"

"I am not sad Isa, I was just annoyed at myself for not pursuing Charles Lee when I had the chance. He was so close."

Brushing your lips against his, you pressed yourself tighter together, as much as your arm between you would allow.

"There will be another time, the right time. Now let's get some sleep."

Connors mouth descended on yours, softly at first, then deepening, taking your breath away as he nibbled at your bottom lip, making your mouth open slightly so his tongue could swim over yours. He had become quite the kisser over these past few months, making you giddy each time you did, but that's as much as you had gone so far as you didn't want to push him into something he wasn't ready for.

You let out a little moan as you felt his trembling hand move down your side and onto your thigh, his fingers tentatively grazing the bare flesh of your leg just below the hem of your shirt. Spurred on by the noise you had made, he slipped his hand under the fabric, gently massaging his way upwards until he reached the top of your leg, just next to your mound.

You broke away from his kiss, opening your eyes to see that his had darkened from their usual chocolate brown to almost black, his breathing just as heavy as yours.

"Show me, Isa. Please..." He whispered.

Swallowing hard as your heartbeat quickened, you nodded and lowered your hand from his arm and placed it on top of his, your breath hitching as you guided him between your legs and pressed his finger into your crease. Biting your lip as you continued to hold his gaze, you moved his hand lower and pushed one of his fingers inside you, collecting the dampness before moving back up, your body jerking as his rough finger ran over your swollen nub.

He became more emboldened as you writhed and whimpered against him, watching your every expression for any indication that he was doing something wrong. You were so captivated by the waves of tingling pleasure building inside you, you hadn't noticed that your own hand had stopped moving, until you felt him stiffen as you brushed it against the hardness underneath his own shirt.

You looked at him questioningly as his breathing became shallower, his face flustering even more as his voice faltered.

"Yes....."

A delicious sounding groan that made you quiver to your core tore from his throat, as you slid your hand under his shirt and wrapped your fingers delicately around his shaft, making his fingers work faster between your legs. He was an extremely quick learner, his fingers rubbing and dancing over your tingling bundle of nerves just right, pushing you ever closer to breaking point.

Your grip around him tightened as that point finally exploded through you, capturing his mouth with yours and closing your eyes, swirls of light and shattered shards clouding your vision.....

 

 

You sat up with a jerk and clapped your hand over your mouth as the most undignified moan came out, immediately turning crimson as you saw Shaun and Rebecca staring at you gobsmacked.

"I do hope your time in the Animus has been more productive than what I have seen so far (name)."

Glancing over to your right, your mouth went dry and mimicked a goldfish as you saw William stood against the wall, arms crossed with a smirk on his face as his eyes flitted between you and Desmond.

"Um...I..ah...errr, please excuse me....."

Jumping up out of the chair and lowering your head so you couldn't see everyone's stares and sniggers, you ran to your room as fast as your legs would let you, slamming the door shut and slumping down against it.

This was a lot worse than the first time, no matter how much you tried, you couldn't calm yourself down, your chest thumping so fast you thought you might have a heart attack. Your face felt like burning fire as you rubbed your cheeks, pressing it against the coolness of the wood for some sort of relief. You froze for a moment as you heard a soft knock at the door, trying to straighten yourself out as you got up and opened it a crack.

Your breath stuck in your throat as you saw Desmond standing there, looking just as flustered as you felt.

"Can I come in?"

Stepping back to let him in the room, he stood in the middle of it with his back to you as you pressed up against the door as you closed it, wishing it would swallow you whole.

After several unnerving minutes, which actually felt like hours, he finally turned around, and walked towards you, stopping only a few inches away.

"So, what are we going to do about this?"

Your stomach was fluttering wildly at his closeness to you, your mouth unable to form words as he pressed his hand on the door next to your head. Finally looking up at him, you saw that he didn't have his usual smirk at your embarrassment, it was softer, more, yearning.

"A.. about what?" You managed, at last, your voice barely audible.

"You know what (name), you managed to hide it before, but you cant now."

His voice had taken on a seductive tone as he edged closer to you, his hot breath on your cheek making every one of your senses whirlwind out of control.

"It's..... It's just the bleeding effect... It will go away....."

Your legs nearly buckled underneath you as he brushed his nose against yours, his heady scent more potent than any drug you could imagine.

"Only one way to find out."

A soft whimper passed your lips as he brushed his against yours, sending a jolt of electricity straight through you, your body instinctively jolting towards him as he pulled away. You closed your eyes and licked your lips, as brief as that kiss was, you could taste him on you.

"We'll try that again in a day or so, then we will know for sure."

His hand that was next to you head dropped down to the doorknob, holding it there for a moment as he waited for you to move away from the door. Your brain finally reconnecting with your body, you managed to step aside, staring at him dumbfounded as he walked out, closing the door behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

You had managed to avoid Desmond for over a day now, feigning a migraine and blaming it on the Animus, you had managed to avoid probing questions as to why you didn't want to go back in. Emerging from your room, at last, you made your way to where the new set up for the equipment was, as Shaun had moved it closer to the main power lines to tap into the grid directly, to stave off unwanted dropouts.

You stood at the doorway to the large room, your stomach fluttering manically as you saw Desmond lying in the chair, his eyes rapidly moving behind his lids as he was reliving Connors memories.

"Hey, how you feeling now?"

Pulling up a chair to sit next to Rebecca, you stared at her screen and watched Connor jump over a rooftop, not wanting to face her as you were sure she would be able to tell you were lying.

"Better, the Animus kinda screws with you a bit doesn't it."

"The Animus needs to be treated with respect, do not fight it, or it will fight back."

You jumped in your seat as William walked in behind you, laying a hand on your shoulder and squeezing it gently.

"Um thanks, I'll try to remember that. How's Miles doing? Any closer to finding the key?"

Rebecca slumped back in her chair, massaging her temples before taking off her headset and chucking it on top of her keyboard.

"Nah, nothing yet, bit slow going at the moment."

She glanced up at William, watching him intently until he walked out, scooting her chair closer to yours so you could hear her hushed tone.

"Not been any more juicy bits either. Seems Connors still a little shy about going all the way."

Your cheeks turned crimson as Rebecca smirked at you, knowing exactly who, and what you were thinking about at that moment in time.

"What's going on here then?"

Clearing your throat as Shaun walked in munching a bowl of cereal, his eyebrows pretty much shot through the roof at the sight of you blushing and Rebecca leaning in so close to you. Seemingly unfazed at Shaun's comment, Rebecca leant back in her own chair, snatching up her headset and fiddling with it until she got it comfy.

"You wish Shaun" she smirked.

"I wish what? If you were speaking about your proximity to each other, I can assure you I wasn't wishing anything."

You scoffed as you could tell he was lying as he placed his bowl on the desk, burying his head in some papers as a pink hue crept across his cheeks. Jumping out of her chair and snatching up the bowl, Rebecca thrust it into Shaun's chest quite forcefully, making him wince.

"You know, for a genius, you really are stupid. Get that crap away from Baby!"

Trying to suppress your giggles as Shaun winced and rubbed his chest where the bowl had hit, you failed in your attempts as Rebecca took up a boxing stance, shadow punching towards the slightly annoyed man. 

"Genius historian, if you don't mind!" Shaun grumbled.

Your giggling immediately stopped as he retorted, something popping into your head that worried you slightly. Waiting for a moment and tapping your fingers nervously on the desk, you wondered how to broach the subject without eliciting any taunting from either of your co-workers.

"Shaun, oh genius historian extraordinaire. Can you find something out for me?"

"Yeah, whats that (name)?"

Stretching out and trying to act if you couldn't care less, you were satisfied that you had stroked his ego enough for him to do what you wanted without question.

"With Connor and Isa, you know... Miles isn't my long lost relative or anything is he? Would hate to forget to send him a birthday card or something."

Adjusting his glasses and flicking through the papers in front of him, he smirked slightly as he found the one he was looking for in the middle, and leaned over the desk to pass it to you.

"I already looked it up. Strangely enough, Desmond asked me the same thing yesterday. No need to break out the candles, Connor and Isabella never had children. Isaac's your Great great great great....."

You and Rebecca slapped your heads in unison, and rolled your eyes at Shaun's ramblings. You silently breathed a sigh of relief, glad that you didn't have these feelings for some estranged cousin or something.

"What are you two laughing at?"

Quickly turning your head to the left to see Desmond sitting up and rubbing his eyes, you turned back to Rebecca and glared at her for not giving you any warning that he had finished the memory, and was coming out of the Animus. Jumping up out of your seat as she winked at you, you cleared your throat and made your way to the door.

"I need coffee, anyone want any?"

You didn't even wait for a reply as you hastily made your way to the makeshift kitchen, pinching the back of your hand to stop it shaking as you grabbed the packet of coffee grounds. Freezing as you heard someone walk in behind you, you took a deep breath and turned around to see Desmond was stood just behind you, barely a foot away.

"So, wasn't there something we needed to try?" He said huskily.

Holding your breath as he inched closer, you raised your hand to lay on his chest to stop him advancing any further.

"There's no need, everything went away."

You could feel his heartbeat racing under your fingers as he raised an eyebrow, almost certain that you were lying.

"Better to be sure..."

"Fine!"

Grabbing his hoodie you pulled him to you and pressed your lips hard against his, softening slightly as he rested his hand on your hip. You tried to think of anything to make the sparks of lightning surging from your lips and running straight to your core, the moan that threatened to pass your lips, go away. 

_Anchovies on pizza. Your uncle in Speedos. Donald Trump. Naked Donald Trump...._

Satisfied that you were as turned off as you were going to be, with the man you now had an infatuation for nibbling on your bottom lip, you pulled away, only slightly flustered. Turning back to making your coffee, you let out a silent heavy breath and clenched the counter to stop yourself from trembling.

"See, nothing. Was just the Animus."

Turning your head slightly and glancing out of the corner of your eye, you could see Desmond completely shocked and tracing his fingers over his lips, before frowning in confusion and running his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, guess you were right. Sorry."

Your heart sank as you watched him walk away, so distracted he didn't even notice William walking in until he bumped into him, mumbling something of an apology as he carried on going. You were beginning to wonder why you kept hiding your feelings as you licked your tingling lips, breaking out of your thoughts as William spoke.

"What was that about? You two haven't had a falling out have you? Because that will make going into the Animus together that much harder."

Fidgeting with your cup as this was definitely a subject you didn't want to talk about with Desmond's father, you forced a grin, turning to him as you poured your coffee.

"Everythings fine, just talking about a few confusing bits in the memories, that's all. Wanna cup?"

You sat down at the counter as William raised his hand and shook his head, slowly sipping from your mug in the unnerving silence.

"Well, as long as everything is alright, do you feel up to going back in? Desmond needs to rest, and we haven't got much time before Abstergo finds us."

"Yup, no problem boss."

William smirked at being called boss, as you were the only one who called him that on occasion, patting you on the back as you got up and headed back to the other room. You were quite apprehensive about going back in, so you peeked around the doorway, feeling a bit better as you saw Rebecca in there alone.

"Becca? William wants me to go back in."

Stretching out in the chair and smirking, she laced her fingers together and cracked her knuckles, barely glancing at her monitor as she began to type.

"I'm guessing you want me to pull you out if any more 'fun' stuff happens?"

What was she, a bloody mind reader?! Nodding sheepishly as you climbed into the chair and laid back, you took a deep breath as you closed your eyes, just hearing Rebecca call out as the light swam around in your head.

_"Can't promise anything, it's being a bit glitchy.........."_

 

 

You rubbed your hands together as you shivered, the heavy snow that had fallen a few hours before making the temperature drop just below freezing.

"Isa, you should take the higher ground, stay in the trees while I search the church."

Nodding as you watched Connor run through the snow and down the hill, you hoisted yourself up into the nearest tree, swinging and climbing through the canopy in the direction he was headed. Perching yourself on a sturdy branch as he entered the church, you used your vision to scout around for any patrolling soldiers in the area.

You began to get slightly worried at the amount of time Connor was gone, you swung over to the next tree, just as he emerged, with Haytham Kenway following closely behind. Your worry turning to anger, you immediately flicked out your blade and leapt down, landing just behind the Templar, grabbing him quickly and pressing your blade up against his throat.

"Isa no! We are working together to stop Benjamin Church!"

Your brow furrowed in confusion as you flicked your wrist and pushed Kenway to the side, moving to stand next to Connor and laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Working with the Grand Master of the Templars? Are you sure that's wise? Father or not, he will surely betray you."

Turning to face the man behind you, your mouth curved into a smirk as you saw his face creased in annoyance, and wiping the blood from his neck where the small cut was from your blade.

"Our interests are aligned, there is no reason for me to eliminate Connor. Yet. As for you, whoever you are, I should kill you where you stand."

"Enough!"

You grinned wickedly as Connor stood in front of you defensively, wrapping one arm around your waist, his other hovering over his tomahawk ready to strike in a split second. Haythams eyes widened as realisation set in, smirking as he glanced between you and Connor, finally taking in your appearance.

"I see. Well, it seems that we do have one thing in common son, our exquisite taste in women. Rather hazardous to bring her along on such an errand though wouldn't you say?"

Grimacing as Kenway continued to stare at you, Connor let go of you and stepped towards him menacingly.

"Isa is a member of the Brotherhood, and is more than capable. She managed to ambush you didn't she? Now shall we continue to find out what happened here or not?"

Holding your head high as both the men walked past you, you decided to hang slightly behind as Connor began tracking the missing supplies. Working your way through the forest, you eventually came across a man who was cursing to himself loudly, and kicking his broken down cart. Closing the gap as Connor approached and asked him if he was one of Churches men, you broke out into a sprint as he tried to escape, knowing that you were the fastest out of your group. It didn't take long to catch him, you were barely breathless as you tackled him to the ground.

Grinning at Kenways bemused expression as you dragged the man up and threw him towards Connor, who pushed him up against a tree and began questioning him, your face dropped as Haytham pulled out his gun, and shot your captive straight in the head the second he had finished talking.

"Enough of this idle banter. Connor, go to the camp, see what you can find out."

"You did not have to kill him! Just what are you going to do?" Connor retorted angrily.

"Never you mind! Just do as I say."

You glared at Kenway as he disappeared into the trees, before going over to Connor and taking his hands in yours, squeezing them gently.

"Such a delightful man, is your father. I'm so glad you are nothing like him. We best head to the camp, and quickly, it will be getting dark soon."

Kissing your hand and nodding somberly before breaking out into a sprint and climbing into the trees, you followed Connor through the forest, making your way to your next objective.

 

Pulling your blade from the thug's neck and dropping him to the ground, you edged closer to the side of the hut, just poking your head around to see Connor sneaking through the bushes, taking down not one, not two, but three guards in quick succession. You smiled to yourself at how quickly his skills had grown under your instruction, before following his trail, keeping out of sight as he eavesdropped on what no doubt was an important conversation about the supplies.

Your eyes widened as you reached close to the edge of the water, watching Kenway getting punched in the face by one of Churches men. 

_How did this fool become Grand Master? Having someone getting the drop on him twice in one day?!_

Turning to the bushes on your left, you saw Connor signal for you to attack, both of you jumping out from your hiding spots and eliminating the guards quickly. You had little time to celebrate, as no sooner had the last one dropped to the ground, a dozen more appeared from out of nowhere advancing on you rapidly.

"When you two are done with these, meet me in New York. I'm sure you can both handle these mercenaries." Haytham called out as he began running away down the bank.

"What a horses ass!" you shouted angrily as you pressed your back up against Connors, the eight men remaining circling you relentlessly.

Working perfectly in tandem, you took down the first six with ease, leaving only the two brutes remaining. You managed to fend off your opponents' attacks, but the weight of his advances kept pushing you closer and closer to the water's edge. Just as Connor managed to take down his own foe, he glanced over to where you were and seeing you struggle, he pulled out his tomahawk and threw it with all of his might, sinking it heavily in the brutes back. Your eyes widened as the mountain of a man crashed into you, knocking you over and sending you rolling into the freezing water.

You entire chest clenched as the coldness immediately ravaged every part of you, wheezing in attempts to catch your breath back as you clambered your way back out of the shallow waters, back to the bank. Uncontrollably shivering as Connor ran over and helped you up, his embrace doing little to ease the pinpricks of pain in your skin, you looked up to see fierce worry in his eyes.

"I'm sorry Isa, it was not my intention for that to happen. We need to get back to Homestead, quickly, before the cold makes you sick."

Nodding frantically as your teeth chattered violently, you managed to pull yourself onto the nearby horse that Connor had grabbed, wrapping your arms around his waist tightly as you sped off back to the manor.

 

Sighing as you leaned back against Connors' chest, you finally began to relax as the mix of the warm strong arms around you, and the roaring fire in front had finally thawed you out.

"Feeling better now?"

You turned your head and smiled softly at Connor, before giggling slightly as the fur from the pelt you were sitting on tickled your leg.

"Yes, much better. Are we really going to New York tomorrow? I can't help but think that this is some kind of scheme."

"We need to stop Benjamin Church. If that means a truce with my father, then so be it, for now. But we must both remain vigilant."

Sighing as you turned back to the fire, your worries were soon forgotten as you felt Connors mouth against your neck, running a trail of little lip bites that sent a tingle down your spine. Your arm instinctively reached around his head as he gently bit down on the spot that he had learnt was extremely sensitive, making a moan catch in your throat that he could feel against his lips. Letting go of the blanket from around you, you twisted around and straddled his legs, cupping his face in your hands and smiled softly as you watched the firelight flicker in his eyes.

You began to tremble as his hands drifted down your back, his feather touch leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. Closing your eyes as your mouth descended on his, the expected white clouds and shards danced before you.....

 

 

Your eyes flickered open to see Connor gazing adoringly at you, the clouds that were obscuring your vision fading away just as fast as the came. Draping your arms over his shoulders as he pulled you closer towards him, your breathing became faster as he lowered his head and took one of your stiff peaks in his mouth, gently sucking and biting that made tendrils of pleasure run straight to the ache in between your legs.

You felt him tense up underneath you as you unintentionally pressed your hips down onto him, the wetness and heat from your folds rubbing onto his throbbing shaft that made him pull away from your breast and gasp.

"Im.. I'm sorry... I didn't mean....."

His expression changed before your eyes as he gazed up at you, morphing from nervousness to yearning and desire as his grip on you tightened.

"Isa, I want you... I am ready....."

You gasped as he lifted you up, positioning himself so he was poking at your entrance, but holding you there apprehensively as he waited for you to reply. You swallowed hard as you raised your hand to his cheek, your voice barely a whisper as you took all of your weight on your knees when he loosened his hold on you.

"Are you sure?"

Kissing him gently as he nodded, you began to lower yourself slowly down onto him, pausing for a moment as he whimpered against your lips. You cried out as he pushed his hips up in his eagerness, burying himself to the hilt inside you, his width making your walls stretch uncomfortably.

Once the discomfort had subsided, he began to quiver against you as you rocked your hips, his fingers digging into your legs as you squeezed gloriously around him, making him feel pleasure that he had never experienced before.

His mouth broke away from yours as he struggled for breath, uttering something in his native tongue against your breasts as he squirmed between your legs, already beginning to unravel. You tightened your arms around his back as you could sense he was getting close, knowing that he wouldn't last much longer as you ground yourself harder against him. You captured his mouth with yours as he let out a deep groan, his hips juddering as you felt his hot climax pump deep inside you, making your eyes smile and your heart swell.

Leaning back so you could let him slow his languid breaths, you brushed the hair that had fallen from its confines off his head, before trailing your fingers over his cheek and smiling softly.

"Wow, Isa, that was....amazing. I did not know it could feel like that."

Giggling as you pulled him back to lay on your shoulder, you let out a sigh as he twitched against you when you trailed your fingers down his back.

"It gets better, I'm glad you enjoyed it, Connor."

"Better?"

You gasped as he looked back up at you, the hungry gleam in his eye returning already as he held you tight and turned you both so you were now laying on your back, pulling out of you and snaking his hand between your legs to massage his climax over your crease.

"I am already looking forward to... better."

Throwing your head back as his fingers circled your tingling nub, you closed your eyes as everything shattered around you...

 

 

You stayed laying in the chair with your eyes closed, unable to speak through the heightened arousal that was swarming through your body.

"Shit (name) I'm sorry, I did try and get you out, but your sync waves were too scrambled to for me to do it safely. You okay?"

Forcing your eyes open, you let out a heavy sigh as you only saw Rebecca in the room, staring at you with a mix of worry and guilt. Dragging yourself out of the chair, you rubbed your face in your hands, trying to hide your expression as you headed towards the door.

"Yeah, I'm okay, just a bit tired. Gonna go put my head down."

Your pace quickened as you walked down the corridor to your room, lowering your head and ignoring Shaun's question as you passed him on the way.

"(Name), you alright?"

Slamming the door shut behind you, you slumped down against it and let out the breath you had been holding, banging the back of your head against the door as you couldn't stop thinking about that kiss with Desmond. Squeezing your legs together to try and sate the throbbing between them, you silently cursed to yourself as it only served to make it worse. _Cmon, get a grip of yourself! You've gotta do something, anything to make this go away!_

Realising that you had gone way past the point of desperation, you fumbled with the top of your jeans, nearly ripping the button off before yanking down the zip, biting your lip to stifle your moan as you slipped your hand inside and under your pants. Shuddering as you pressed a finger inside you, you gathered up the drips of your arousal and began rubbing your clit frantically, in hopes that the orgasm that you'd been denying yourself these past few days, would suffocate your desires.

Just as you felt it beginning to build, you jumped at the sound of someone knocking on the door behind you. _Goddammit! Can't a girl get a moments peace?!_ Halting your movements as William called your name from the other side of the door, you took a deep breath and tried to control the shaking in your voice as you replied.

"Yes, William? Did you need something?"

"Just checking you were okay (name), Shaun said you didn't look too well."

Slapping your head before pulling your hand out and doing up your jeans, you stood up and tried to brush yourself straight before opening the door, knowing he wasn't going to go away until he saw for himself that you were alright. Putting on your best fake grin, you turned the handle to see Williams face change from concern to satisfied as he glanced over you.

"I'm fine, was just a little woozy, but it's gone now."

"Excellent. Was wondering if you wouldn't mind running out and getting a few supplies, we need to keep changing vehicles so Abstergo doesn't become familiar with the van travelling the same route."

Knowing it was pointless arguing, and your refusal would only make his concerns come back, you decided maybe the fresh air would be good, albeit for some menial task.

"Sure, just gimmie a sec to get changed. Got a list?"

Taking the slip of paper he handed out and closing the door again, you quickly pulled on your leather jacket and boots, and grabbed your helmet and keys, pretty much running to the garage where your bike was. Skidding to a halt as you reached it, your heart began pounding as you saw Desmond leaning up against your bike, with your spare helmet in his hand.

"What are you doing? You're not coming with me."

"Yes I am, I've been cooped up in this hell hole for weeks. I need to get out. You'll keep me safe, won't you?"

Your mouth ran dry as he winked at you seductively, the throbbing between your legs that had just begun to die down, rushing back with full force. Clearing your throat and pushing him aside to sit on your bike, you quickly pulled on your helmet so he couldn't see the flush rising up in your face.

"I'm not here to look after you. You're not coming."

"Yes. I am."

"No. You're not."

"Yes.". "No.". "Yes.". "No.". "Yes."

Your voice stuck in your throat as he slid on the seat behind you, leaning forwards and wrapping his arms around you, pressing himself up against your back. Finally finding your voice again, you started up your bike and gave it a few revs so he couldn't hear the quivering as you spoke.

"Gah! Fine. Don't let go."

Flipping down your visor as you felt him tighten against you, you were sure he could feel you trembling against him as he squeezed you for a moment, before moving his head to the side of yours so you could hear him.

"I don't intend to let go."


	5. Chapter 5

Your mind was running just as fast as you were travelling through the nearly empty streets towards the store, Desmond's arms around you distracting you enough to make you miss the turning twice. Finally parking up across the street and turning off the ignition, you jumped off quickly and took a few steps across the road, waving your hand for Desmond to stay put.

"You can wait here, I'll only be a few minutes. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

It didn't take you long to get the items on the list, throwing a couple of cans of energy drink and a bottle of vodka in for yourself when you decided that you could indeed use it after today's events, you quickly paid and exited the brightly lit shop. Dropping the bags on the ground for a moment to put your helmet back on, so Desmond wouldn't see the inevitable flush that you wouldn't be able to stop rising in your face, your eyes flickered to a movement down the street on your left. 

Grabbing the bags and briskly walking back to your bike, where Desmond was now sat in your seat and tapping his fingers on the tank, you poked him in the leg to get his attention as you dropped the bags in the panniers at the back. Keeping your voice low as he turned to you, you turned your head slightly to see three people get out of the black van, and slowly walk in your direction.

"Miles, how well can you ride?"

His brow furrowed in confusion under his helmet as he took in the agitated look in your eyes, his own widening as he eventually realised why you would ask him that.

"As good as you. Where are they?"

Slightly tilting your head to the left, you watched his eyes flicker to where you were gesturing as his hand hovered over the keys in the ignition. Starting your bike as you quickly jumped on behind him, you held on for dear life as he twisted the throttle as far as it would go.

Managing to turn your head against the force of the speed you were going, you saw that the Abstergo van was keeping up with you as Desmond attempted to navigate the streets that were unfamiliar to him.

"We're not losing them!"

"You know how to use a gun? There's one in my bag!"

Your mind flickered back to the training you did with Rebecca a few years ago, thankful that she had insisted on teaching you on how to use a firearm, saying that every girl should always carry some kind of protection, which of course, you never did.

"Yeah, but you need to slow down! Take a right here!"

Slowing down to steer through the narrow side streets, you managed to hook your leg around Desmond's waist and manoeuvre yourself so that you were sat in front of him, your chest pressed up against his, looking over his shoulder. Reaching around his back and fumbling for a moment, you located the zip to his bag and pulled out the gun, aiming it at the van that was now only several feet away. Squeezing out three rounds straight into the drivers' side windshield, you grinned to yourself as it swerved about briefly, before crashing into a dumpster.

"They're gone, but there will be more, gotta find somewhere to hide."

You were confused when Desmond didn't answer, until you remembered how you were sitting. You hadn't given it a second thought while you were trying to save your lives, but now you were safer, your carnal emotions came flooding back full force. You could feel him tensing up as your grip repeatedly tightened around him whenever he turned a corner, finally stopping at an abandoned Gym at the edge of town.

Trying not to look at his face as you slid off the bike and opened the shutter, you took a few deep breaths to calm yourself as he wheeled the bike in, pulling it back down and locking it securely. Feeling around on the wall, you managed to find a lever that was apparently for the lighting and pushed it up, making the couple of bulbs that were still intact light the room up in a dim glow. Taking off your helmet and pulling out your phone, you sent a quick text to William telling him what happened and that you were safe for now, but it was too dangerous to go out again till morning.

Your heart still going ten to the dozen, you decided to make light of the situation, trying not to acknowledge the obvious elephant in the room.

"Not bad Miles, I feel a bit better about maybe lending you my bike now. Seems like were holed up here for the night, better look around and find somewhere to sleep."

Looking over to see him nod in his still dumbfounded state, you wandered about, taking in your surroundings. There was a large boxing ring in the middle of the room, several weights scattered about that had obviously had not been used in a while judging by the amount of dust on them, and several doorways to the right. The first door was to the locker room, which was surprisingly quite clean given the state of the rest of the place, the second was a storage cupboard, which thankfully had a few blankets and towels left in it. Grabbing a couple of blankets, you made your way to the third room which was an office, that had masses of paperwork and boxes stacked on the desk, and a cot in the corner.

You jumped as you felt Desmond walk up behind you, stopping close enough so you could feel his breath in your hair as he looked over your shoulder.

"Ummm, you take the bed, I'll take the chair. Not like I sleep much anyway."

Wishing he would actually say something, anything, to break the unnerving silence, you sighed and pushed a blanket to his chest, then grabbed the chair and tipped it over, knocking the stack of papers to the floor. Slumping down in the seat and adverting your gaze as he shrugged off his hoodie and pulled off his t-shirt, you quickly unfolded the blanket and pulled it up over you, scrunching it around your face so he couldn't see the burning in your cheeks.

"You're getting undressed?! It's freezing in here."

The corner of his mouth twitched as he dropped onto the bed, stretching out purposefully when he saw your eyes flicker over him for longer than they should.

"Never liked wearing anything when I sleep, only started doing it because we were sharing a room. Problem?"

Shaking your head and twisting about to try and get comfortable, you cursed silently when the only decent position was facing the bed, not able to move the chair unless you dropped the blanket. Closing your eyes quickly so you couldn't see the cheeky grin that crept up his face, you sighed as it did little good when the images of his current state of undress kept spinning through your head.

 

 

After about an hour of shuffling about, you decided to give up chasing the elusive slumber, and kicked the blanket to the ground as your eyes flickered open. Your stomach tied in knots as your gaze landed on Desmond, who was snoring gently still stretched out on his back. Creeping out the room as quietly as you could, you wandered around the gym, trying to think of anything but the half-naked man in the next room.

The corner of your mouth twitched as you stopped in front of the storage cupboard, opening it up and tugging a towel out from the middle of the bale. Smelling it and deciding it was still clean as the faint whiff of laundry detergent tickled your nose, you made your way to the back of the locker room, to where you had spotted the communal shower.

Turning the shower on, thankful that the city hadn't gotten around to turning the water supply off yet, you dropped the towel onto the nearby bench and began peeling off your clothes. Stood in just your bra and knickers, you listened carefully for any signs that Desmond was awake. When you could hear nothing apart from the rushing of the water, you quickly undid your bra and shimmied out of your pants, stuffing them in your boots so they wouldn't get wet.

Sighing as you stepped under the hot water, you stayed there for a few minutes, just letting the jets of water run over your body, melting away some of the tenseness of the past couple of weeks. Still extremely pent up as the rather explicit images refused to leave your head, you decided to give up trying to make them go away, and use them to your advantage instead. Looking around again to make sure you were still alone, you began to carry on with what you had started earlier, before you were interrupted by William.

Leaning against the small partition that separated the showers, you closed your eyes and skimmed your hand over your crease, making your leg twitch in anticipation. Biting your lip you pushed a finger inside you, wiggling it about for a moment before drawing it back up over your clit, rubbing in slow strokes. It didn't take much imagination to pretend that it was Desmond's hand that was teasing you, as you could already recall the faint scent of his cologne, how his lips had tasted when you had kissed him.

Slipping another finger in your crease, you began to circle faster as the pressure began to build deep in your abdomen, your breath speeding up as the water from the shower trickled between your fingers, adding to the stimulation from your hand. Almost inaudibly you uttered Desmond's name through your little pants, as the pre-orgasmic waves began to flow through you, building stronger with each swirl of your fingers.

"Need a hand with that?"

You immediately froze and snapped your eyes open as the voice rang through the room, quickly glancing at Desmond who was stood a few feet away, wide-eyed and smirking, before turning to face the wall in attempts to hide your embarrassment.

"Err... I.. no! Get out!"

"I know you were thinking about me (name), I heard you. Why not have the real thing instead of fantasy?"

Hearing him walk closer as he spoke, you wrapped your arms around yourself in attempts to hide your body from his eyes, but dropped them back to your sides as you knew you didn't have enough arms to be able to cover everything that was on view. Tilting your head slightly to the side so you could see him out of the corner of your eye, words stuck in your throat as you glanced over him, your chest heaving as you tried to catch your breath. You bit your lip as he looked over you with a mix of longing and desire, that made your stomach flutter wildly.

"Is that a yes?"

Every part of you was screaming and quivering as you turned back to face the wall, gasping out loud as you heard the unmistakable chink of a belt being undone. You felt like you had just been struck by lightning when you felt his hands rest on your hips, blood scorching through your veins filled with burning need, your mind whirl winding out of control.

"Fuck it....." You whispered to yourself.

Turning around slowly, you brought your shaking hand up around the back of his neck and pulled him down so he was an inch away, you swallowed hard and brushed your lips against his. You pulled back to see his expression, the corner of your lips curving as his face lit up, wrapping his arms around you tightly. His mouth descended on yours furiously, every part of him that had been holding back bursting out in that one moment, that made you tremble to your core.

You had to pull away as your breath caught in your throat when his hand ran over your hips and down between your legs, his fingers dancing over your throbbing clit far better than you were doing. You bit down on his neck, making a carnal growl rise from his throat and into your ear that made the pressure inside you build again at a rapid pace, spiking when he plunged a finger deep inside you, his thumb moving to pick up the slack.

He nudged your cheek so you turned back to him, capturing your mouth again, his tongue dancing over yours with such ardour that it made you shudder and breathless. His grip tightened around you when your legs began to shake, you began clawing at his shoulders as your long awaited climax teetered on the edge of pleasure, almost passing into pain. Throwing your head back and moaning loudly as the coil exploded in you, sending waves of electrifying bliss through you, more potent than anything you had ever felt before.

Panting and convulsing as his fingers continued to draw out every exquisite drop that he could, he eventually stopped as you collapsed against his chest, mumbling his name.

"D...Des....."

Drawing his hand from you and tilting your chin up, you managed to focus enough to see his eyes darkened with desire, his lips curving into a soft smile. Not breaking his gaze from yours, he dropped his arm and curled his fingers around your thigh, pulling you closer and hooking his leg over your hip. Inhaling sharply as he twisted himself so his tip was just poking at your entrance, you lowered your arm to his waist, pulling at him, urging him to continue.

Your entire body was humming as he steadily pressed forwards, deliberately savouring every moment of your tight walls gripping around his shaft, a moment he had been dreaming about every night for weeks. You both let out a deep sigh as he fully seated himself inside you, the water cascading in between your bodies heightening every sensation that was unfurling within you as he tenderly kissed your lips, and slowly began moving against you.

The initial hunger that had died down slightly from your climax began to grow again as he continued thrusting his hips in a slow, gentle rhythm, making you grasp as him with a need for more force. You knew he was feeling the same as you felt his body begin to strain from holding back, so you broke your lips away from his, nuzzling into his neck as you whispered in his ear.

"C'mon Desmond, show me how much you want me."

Pulling back to see his face morph into a wicked grin, you squealed as he pulled your other leg up around his waist and pressed you against the cold tiles, plunging deep into you with abandon. The dying ebbs of your orgasm began to rise up again as he thrust into you frantically, pulling out to nearly the tip before filling the void again just as fast. At that moment in time, the only things that existed in this world were just the two of you, and the pleasure that you had been denying for so long engulfing you both.

Your joint moans echoed around the room, his a deep growl, yours, high and soft as you both began to tense up, the desperate need for each other beginning to overwhelm. Capturing his lips with yours as your climax washed over you first, digging your nails into his back and whimpering as the fire tore through you almost as strongly as before, dimming all of your senses. The tensing of your body made him follow shortly after, lifting you up and pulling out just in time to cover the tiles in his hot ropey strands.

Collapsing against each other as the faint aftershocks rippled through you, you managed to raise your hand and wipe the water from his face, before kissing him gently.

"You didn't need to do that, I'm on birth control."

He let go of your leg briefly to shut off the water, and held you tight again as he carried you back to the office and to the bed.

"That's not exactly come up in a chat over coffee before, but I'll remember that next time."

You grinned as he dropped you down and grabbed the blanket to cover your still damp bodies, then squeezing in next to you on the other side, pulling you close. Tracing your fingers over his chest, your brow furrowed for a moment as he brushed a strand of wet hair off your cheek.

"Des, this bleeding effect. Does it.. go away?"

Tilting your chin up and rubbing the creases in your forehead with his thumb to make them go away, he looked deep into your eyes quite nervously.

"Nope, it's permanent. Why, do you regret what we just did?"

"No! Far from it. Was just wondering if this was real... everything I feel, is real. Or just the Animus doing it."

Grinning as he cupped your chin and kissed you gently before resting his head on yours, he draped an arm over your waist and trailed his fingers over the small of your back, making you shudder.

"I told you, it just intensifies what's already there. Doesn't conjure something out of nothing. As I recall, you were already thinking about me waaaay before we went in anyway."

"Wha? How did you know that?"

You felt him silently chuckle against you before letting out a yawn and shuffling about to get comfortable, laying on his arm as you snuggled under his chin.

"The night we, I, cracked the code to the Animus, you mumbled something about me getting out of your head."

"You cracked the code?! Of all the pig-headed...."

You squealed as he ticked down your side, cutting you short in your attempted abuse for him taking credit for your work. Slapping him on the arm as he kissed you passionately, you pulled away and playfully scowled at him.

"Don't push your luck Miles."

He winced and pouted as you called him that again, before settling back down as tiredness began sinking its claws in you both.

"Here I was enjoying you calling me Des. No one else calls me that ya know."

Giggling through your stifled yawn, you pulled the blanket up further, and pressed yourself tight up against his chest.

"Sorry... Des."


	6. Chapter 6

You awoke the next morning to your phone vibrating madly on the floor next to you. Sliding as gently as you could from under Desmond's arm so you wouldn't wake him, you sat on the edge of the bed and snapped it up.

_"(Name)?! Are you alright? I've been calling all morning."_

Glancing at your watch, your eyes widened in shock to see it was a little after ten.

"Yeah, sorry William, long night."

_"Thank god. Desmond too?"_

Turning around and smiling when you saw he was awake, his eyes drifting over your naked body, you took a deep breath as the usual backflips in your stomach started again.

"Yep, he's right next to me. What's so urgent?"

_"We've found the temple. It's in Turin, New York. How fast can you get there?"_

"New York? It would take us about eight hours to get there."

You managed to stifle a moan as Desmond pushed up behind you, trailing his fingers over your breasts and kissing your neck.

"Actually, make that nine, gotta check my bike for damage."

_"Excellent. Ill message you the coordinates...."_

William hadn't even finished speaking when you pressed the end call button and chucked your phone on top of your coat, turning around and draping your arms around Desmond's neck.

"Nine hours to get to New York? With the way you ride we could make it in seven."

Pushing him on his back and straddling over him, you grabbed his hands and pinned them tightly above his head, winking at him seductively.

"I know."

 

 

Eventually finding the place where William had messaged you to meet, Desmond turned the ignition off just as your co-workers pulled up in their van. Rebecca's eyebrows raised as she poked her head out of the window, watching you climb off your bike and take off your helmet.

"You let Desmond ride your bike?! Thought you said you'd rather gouge out your own eyeballs with a rusty spoon than give up your keys?"

Looking slightly embarrassed, you didn't dare turn around to face a no doubt smug looking man who you had shared a bed with less than ten hours before, as you had both decided that you didn't want anyone knowing about you just yet. So taking a deep breath, you concentrated on going to help Shaun and William unload the van.

"Yeah well, he did get us away from Abstergo, thought I'd let him have a treat for saving my brain from those butchers. So where's this Temple then?"

Groaning as Shaun passed you a ridiculously large box to carry, you shuddered as you felt Desmond's hand on the small of your back as he passed by you. Seemingly innocent, but the curve of a smile on his face let you know he'd done it intentionally, knowing exactly what it had done to you. Thankfully no one had noticed his little gesture, or the playful scowl you gave him when he smirked at you, before walking over to the nearby cave.

"If my information is correct, which it usually is, the entrance should be in this cave," said Shaun in his usual know it all voice.

Each of you carrying a box of equipment, and Desmond taking the lead, you all made your way down to the bottom of the cave, to be faced with a stone wall covered in graffiti and strange markings. Running his hands over the wall, Desmond reached inside his bag and pulled out the Apple of Eden, your eyes widening when it emitted shards of light as he placed it into the recess he had found, making the glyphs light up in a golden glow and the wall lift to reveal a passageway.

Becoming slightly nervous as you continued on, the Apple lit up again when you came across a large stone door, easily twenty feet high, its power making it open just like the wall before.

"I think we're here."

Your heart jumped into your throat when Desmond slipped down the ramp in front of him, breathing a sigh of relief when he got up and brushed himself off at the bottom.

"Des, you alright?!"

"Yeah fine. You can all come down."

Turning to Rebecca as you felt her nudge you in the arm, you hung back and let the men go first, wondering why she was smirking at you. As soon as Shaun and William were out of earshot, she leaned over to whisper in your ear. 

"Did you just call him... Des?!"

"What? No?!"

You raised the box higher to try and make the awkwardness of it the blame for the faltering in your voice, quickly making a mental note to be more careful about what you say as you cautiously stepped down the ramp, almost certain that you could feel Rebecca's gaze burning into the back of your head.

 

 

"Wow........"

You dropped the box at your feet as you watched Desmond pick up a glowing cube from the floor and push it into a slot in the stone table in front of him, making the back of the temple erupt in a blue-white glow. All of a sudden, you felt incredibly dizzy and everything became a blur as white clouds surrounded you, grasping at thin air before slumping to the ground and passing out.

 

 

"(Name), (Name) can you hear us?"

Looking around as your eyes began to focus, all you could see was white, suddenly realising that you were in the loading programme of the Animus.

_"William? Yeah, I can hear you, what happened?"_

"The temple triggered a bleeding effect, Desmond's out as well. We had to put you in the Animus so we could see what was happening. Hold on, we'll get you out."

Just as everything started spinning again, you gasped as you were sure you had seen a ghostly figure of a woman reaching out towards you, just before everything went dark. 

Groaning as you sat up from the stone slab you were laying on, you looked around to see that all of the equipment had been set up, and Desmond laying next to you, still in the Animus.

"How long have I been out?"

Grabbing William's arm as he helped you get up, you shook your head to try and shift the last bit of fogginess that still lingered.

"About five hours. Desmond's in Haytham Kenways memories trying to locate the key, did you see anything while you were in there?"

Shaking your head and walking over to where Rebecca and Shaun were sitting, you decided not to mention the figure you had saw just yet, thinking it was either the Animus playing tricks on you, or you were actually starting to go mad.

"Nah nothing. You better not have tried to cop a feel while I was out Shaun."

Rebecca hi-fived you and grinned when Shaun flustered and dropped the files he was carrying, sending you both into a fit of giggles.

"I beg your pardon?! I would never do such a thing. I would check for bruises though, Rebecca wasn't exactly gentle when she dragged you over here."

"If you two are quite finished, we have work to do."

You immediately stopped laughing as William glared at you for your childish behaviour, and leant over Rebecca's shoulder to see if she needed any help with the programme she had begun to upgrade.

"How's it working now? Any more glitches?"

"So far so good. Got another bit to do, but that's gonna take a while, and can't use the Animus at the same time for that one. Did find something interesting though, take a look at this."

Your eyes widened as Rebecca brought up your sync details from the past few times in the Animus, bringing Desmond's up on the other screen to compare.

"Every time you go in, your waves change to almost match Desmond's. These are the ones from when you went in alone a year ago, and these are from the other day. They become closer to matching every time."

You jumped and spun around as both William and Shaun leant over from behind you, their expressions matching you bewildered one.

"William, what does this mean?"

"I have no idea. We can't send you back in at the moment to gather more data, we don't have enough power to sustain you both in there for an extended period of time."

Nodding and slumping down on the nearest rock, you stared out into space, wondering if this had anything to do with the woman that you had seen while you were unconscious.

 

 

The next two days were infuriating to say the least, even without going into the Animus, the sparks between you and Desmond never diminished, just as he said they wouldn't. If anything they had become stronger since you had been together, and with your current company, any time alone was impossible. Having to make do with little gestures and quick kisses when no one was looking, it actually only served to make the situation worse. Even William had picked up on yours and Desmond's agitated states, but thankfully he had chalked it up to tiredness, and the Animus taking its toll. Rebecca and Shaun however had not, cornering and questioning at every opportunity they had. Now, just happened to be one of those times.

"C'mon (name), you can talk to me, what's eating at you? Desmond bugging you again? I can sort him out if you'd like."

 

Sighing and rubbing your face to bide time to think of an excuse that you hadn't come up with yet, you screamed 'Yes!' in your head as William came over and interrupted you before you had a chance to answer.

"I hate to break up this 'girl talk', but we have located another power source. We need to make preparations immediately to retrieve it."

Both of you jumping up and sitting at your respective computers, you managed to boot up yours first, and load up JFK airport website.

"So...... where are we going?"

"Brazil."

 

 

You were sat in the back of the rental van next to Rebecca, tapping your fingers nervously on your laptop and fiddling with your earpiece. Checking your watch for probably the hundredth time in the past half hour, you decided to try the comms again, only to hear the wretched static that had been making your temper fray since Desmond had left for the stadium.

"Oh for god's sake (name). Here I got you something, hopefully, this will help chill you out."

Studying the can Rebecca chucked at you, you pulled the tab and sniffed it, scrunching your face up when it smelled like some kind of sweet herbal concoction.

"What is it?"

"Energy drink. Brazil's finest, now get chugging."

Shrugging your shoulders, you decided to entertain her idea that it was your lack of caffeine that was the problem, and quickly knocked back its contents.

"Good, plenty more where that came from, now can we please concentrate on getting this power source? Ah! Desmond, there you are. Hows it going?"

Flicking your headset on quickly, you stared at your screen, trying to control the grin that threatened to spread over your face as Desmond's voice ran in your ear, albeit intermittently.

_"Just got off the train...In the stadium... Guards everywhere..... Plan?"_

"Hang on, give us a sec to clear this up a bit."

Typing to change the frequency when Rebecca gave you the nod, you grinned as she threw you another can, calming down and starting to feel a bit like your old self again.

"Miles, can you hear us now?"

You giggled as he scoffed over the line, making everyone in the van turn and raise an eyebrow at you. Clearing your throat and turning back to your screen, you took another swig of your drink as you pulled up the plans for the stadium.

"Ahem. The power source is being worn as a bracelet by some trophy wife, we think she's in the Vip booth on the upper level. You'll have to sneak past security."

_"Easier said than done, that doesn't look like normal security."_

"Desmond, Rebecca here. That's cos it not, there Abstergo agents. Keep your eye out for Cross, he's probably lurking about somewhere."

_"Shit, they've set up a checkpoint."_

"Stay close to the crowds, (name) is gonna hack into the security cameras to help."

Grabbing the disk from Shaun that he was handing to you, you loaded it up and brought up the feeds from the camera, smirking when he looked at you gobsmacked at how fast you had worked.

"Miles I've got you. I've created a feedback loop so only we can see you. Go out the door to your right, it'll lead you outside and you can make get back in through an upper-level window. Be careful, they're onto you."

Staring intently at the screen, you couldn't help but be impressed at how quickly and cleanly he scaled up the wall and into a window. You grabbed your can and knocked the rest of it back, choking on it for a second when you saw Rebecca smirking at you. Pulling off your headset, you gestured for her to continue giving instructions while you spluttered and wheezed trying to get your breath back, scowling as she laughed.

"Desmond, she's not far, on the other side of the stadium, use the catwalks to get across."

_"Got it. Whats so funny?!"_

"Ah, nothing, (names) just busy dribbling down her chin."

You slapped her on the arm when Desmond looked up to the security camera and smirked, immediately composing yourself when William glared at you.

_"The woman's dead, someone's took the power source, I'm going after him."_

Pulling your headset back on quickly, you frantically flicked through the camera feeds trying to find where he was, finally coming across to one on the terrace outside where he was fighting with the thief, and several of Abstergo's guards. Your knuckles were turning white as you gripped the sides of your chair whilst watching the brawl, your heart feeling like it was going to break through your ribs at any moment.

Slumping back down and breathing a sigh of relief when he had defeated the last assailant and pulled a glowing cube from inside his jacket, you flicked through the cameras again to see at least a dozen guards heading to his location.

"Des! They're coming for you, get out of there and back to the Metro, we'll hold it for you!"

Pulling off your headset and chucking it on your laptop when you had lost connection again, you turned to see Shaun and Rebecca smirking at you.

"What?!"

"Oh, nothing. Why don't you go and meet Desmond at the Metro, make sure he gets back okay?" said Rebecca in a sing-song voice.

Furrowing your brows in confusion and trying to figure out what you had done to warrant their attention, you eventually gave up and shrugged your shoulders, climbing out of the van and headed towards the station. 

 

 

Leaning up against the wall across the street from the entrance of the station, you scowled as another large group of drunken tourists emerged, blocking your view. Checking your watch again, you began to get slightly agitated as you had been standing there for nearly half an hour, a lot longer than you should have been. You had seen him jump on the Metro just in time, and the ride was supposed to take fourteen minutes, twenty max if the stops took longer than scheduled, so where was he?!

Your eyes widened and your breath caught in your throat as you felt someone grab you from behind, one strong arm around your waist, another clamped over your mouth to stop the screams that you tried to do as you were being dragged back to an alleyway between the shops behind you. Flailing and wriggling about to try and get free, you immediately stopped when you felt a hot mouth on your neck, kissing just behind your ear.

"Shhhh, (name) it's me."

Turning around when Desmond's grip finally loosened around you, you slapped him on the chest and scowled.

"You asshole, you scared the life out of me!"

"Sorry, there's loads of guards about, as well as cameras....."

You raised your eyebrows when he pulled your earbud out and slipped it into his pocket with a smirk, then grabbed his hand as he went to pull his hood down with a cheeky gleam in your eye.

"Leave it up."

He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you firmly against him, his mouth descending on yours hungrily that immediately made every nerve in your body tingle. Your grip around him tightened as he nibbled at your bottom lip, making you part them, letting his tongue swim over yours that left you breathless.

He pulled away and groaned as both of your phones rang out in unison, shaking his head as he rested it on yours. Letting out a heavy sigh as you fumbled in your pocket, you scowled to see it was Shaun calling.

"I'd better answer."

You tried not to yelp as you pressed the answer button, grinning and swatting Desmond's hand away that was squeezing your breast through your jacket.

"Shaun?"

_"(Name)? Rebecca can't see you on any of the cameras, where are you? Have you found Desmond?"_

"Yep, we had to hide from security running about, we're just outside the station."

_"Stay where you are, we'll come to you. We're two minutes away."_

Stealing another couple of frantic kisses, you both managed to grumpily pull yourself straight and walk out of the alleyway just as Shaun pulled up outside.


	7. Chapter 7

After a twelve hour delay at the airport, security having been tripled because of the 'disturbance' at the MMA fight, you finally made it back to the Temple none worse for wear.

Sitting next to William who was examining the cube, you couldn't help but trace your fingers over it, admiring how beautiful it was.

"William, how many more of them are there?"

Watching him get up and pass the cube to Desmond before pacing about for a moment, you couldn't help but worry at his anxious expression.

"There are two more, we need to find them quickly, before Abstergo discover what we are up to. Desmond, go and find where that power source belongs, (name), go with him. We have no idea what this Temple can do, I don't want him being alone from now on."

Trying not to look as enthusiastic as you felt, you got up and stretched out lazily, keeping your focus on the ledges and cavern-like rooms above you.

"Yeah why not, been dying to explore since we got here."

Following Desmond to the right of the Temple, you began climbing up some stone stairs, pausing for a moment when you got to a huge chunk that was missing, Desmond poking you in your leg and smirking.

"How well can you climb (name)?"

Grinning as you remembered asking him something similar not long ago, you took a step back and leapt over the gap, catching the other side of the ledge and pulling yourself up easily.

"As good as you. Well, almost. Did gymnastics when I was younger, and before you ask, no, I don't still have the leotard."

Giggling as he pouted, you stepped back so he could follow your path over the gap just as easily as you had. Continuing up and around the numerous broken platforms and ledges, you glanced around the room you were now in, almost certain that you had been here before.

"Des, I think we're going around in circles...."

"Its gotta be around here somewhere. C'mon this way."

Glancing up to the large hole in the upper wall that he had gestured to, you stepped into his hands and pulled yourself up, peering over the side to watch him run up the wall and climb up after you.

"Is this it?"

Walking over to the stone table on the other side of the room, you traced your fingers over the hole in the centre of it, before stepping back as Desmond took off his bag, and pulled the glowing cube out of it, pushing it in the recess. You could feel a faint rumbling underneath your feet as he pressed it in, several recesses in the side of the Temple lighting up in the same blue glow.

No sooner after the rumbling had stopped, you grabbed his arm tightly as you saw the ghostly figure appear again to your right. It looked like she was talking, but only silence fell on your ears.

"You can see her?!" Desmond whispered.

"Yeah, but I can't hear anything. Who is she?"

"I'll explain later, wait here."

Squeezing his hand before he pulled away, you stood chewing your lip nervously as he spoke to the strange apparition, only managing to catch snippets of his side of the conversation. When she eventually disappeared, your heart sank as Desmond walked back over to you miserably.

"That was Juno, one of the people who created this Temple to try and stop this solar flare from happening before. I don't understand how you can see her though?"

Shrugging your shoulders, you pondered for a moment, suddenly remembering what Rebecca had shown you about your recent sync waves. Before you had a chance to speak, you looked around quickly as a voice rang through the air.

_"Find the key... Use the past...Play your part so I can play mine...."_

"Enough with the cryptic clues! Tell me what you want!" Desmond shouted back into the emptiness angrily.

Taking hold of his hand again, you grinned as his frown melted away, his eyes lighting up and a curve of a smile appearing at your touch.

"We'll figure it out, you've got me helping you. Come on, better get back before the others start a search party."

Jumping down through the hole and back to the lower level, you gasped when Desmond grabbed your arm and spun you around, pressing you up against the wall and kissing you deeply. You moaned into his mouth as his hands trailed down your sides and curled around your ass, squeezing hard and pulling your hips firmly against him, making you smile against his lips when you could feel his already throbbing cock against your leg.

"Ahem."

Your eyes snapped open as you heard someone clear their throat to the side of you, both of you freezing and turning crimson when you saw Rebecca stood there with her hands on her hips, grinning wildly.

"Sorry to break this up kids, but the Animus is about ready. Although... I suppose I could make the upgrade last another twenty minutes."

You buried your head in Desmond's chest as she turned to walk away, stopping for a moment to look back over her shoulder and wink.

"I'll make it thirty. By the way there's a much easier path up here to your right....."

Looking back up to see she had gone, you draped your arms over his shoulders, and burst out giggling in embarrassment.

"Oh god, no doubt shes already telling the others."

"Hmmm, most likely knowing Rebecca. Might as well take advantage of the next half hour then."

Your eyes widened as he picked you up and carried you over to the stone table next to you, his lips curved in a sensuous grin as he sat you down on the edge and began to undo your jeans.

"Des, you can't be serious...."

He cut you short by kissing you frantically as he continued to pull at your trousers, managing to tug them down past your knees along with your pants. He pulled away as you gasped when your rear touched the cold rock, taking advantage of your distraction for a moment to shrug off his hoodie and ball it up. Pushing you back so you were propped up on your elbows, he pressed his hoodie into your hand, kissing your cheek quickly and whispering in your ear.

"That's for the noise."

"Noise? I can be qui...Ahhh!"

You dropped back onto the slab and covered your face with his jacket when he lowered himself down between your legs, running his tongue through your crease in one slow lick. His hand came up to push your squirming hips down as his tongue lashed over you wildly, alternating between slow laps and quick flicks over your clit that soon had you panting and whimpering against the fabric. Even though he had never done this to you before, he seemed to know instinctively what your body wanted, every lip bite, every suck making you tense up, winding you closer to your release.

Feeling your legs beginning to tremble around his head, he rubbed two fingers over your entrance, lubricating them before plunging them into you, twisting and caressing your walls that made electrifying waves hurl through you and gather at one spot deep in your abdomen, pushing it to bursting point. You cried out as your climax tore through you, the jacket doing little to stifle the noise as he continued to work over you, prolonging your orgasm to the point where you began to whimper and convulse against the rock with the sheer intensity of it.

You were so enveloped in the post-haze of euphoria, you hadn't even noticed that he had continued tugging off your jeans and undid his own, until you felt his arm wrap around your back, lifting you to sit and kissing you gently as you dropped the hoodie to the floor.

Pulling away and opening your eyes, you couldn't help but smile at his smug expression, which quickly changed to something more tender as he took his shaft in his hand and lined himself up with you, pushing forwards slowly that made you throw your head back and gasp.

Dropping his arm to pull your hips closer toward him, he brought up his other to the back of your head, running his fingers through your hair and littering kisses over your cheek as his pace began to speed up, spurred on by your soft moans in his ear.

You wrapped your arms around him when the pleasure began building again inside you, pressing your mouth firmly against his in attempts to quieten the ragged moans erupting from your throat. You could feel his fingers digging in your leg as every one of your muscles began to tighten, your walls squeezing around him gloriously that sent a surge straight through his body, making him pull away to catch his breath.

You held his gaze for as long as you could when your peak ravaged through you again, before burying your face in his neck and biting down hard enough to leave a mark as the waves of tingling fire overwhelmed you again. The clamping down of your walls around him made his hips jerk erratically against you, letting out a low groan as his own climax pumped hot and deep inside you.

Slumping against each other, trembling and breathless, you managed to raise your head slightly to gaze at his neck, wincing at the bruise you had made in the throws of passion.

"Erm, sorry about that."

Desmond raised his eyebrows as he traced his fingers over where you were looking, before smirking and kissing you again as he pulled out of you.

"That good hmm? I'll get you back."

You could feel the heat rising in your face as you looked at him with mock horror when he laughed and passed you back your jeans, quickly sliding off the table to pull them on before you noticed something was missing.

"Des... Where are my pants?!"

You eyed him suspiciously as he turned away and shrugged his shoulders, before noticing a scrap of black lace peeking out of his trouser pocket as he pulled his hoodie back on.

"Give them back" you chided playfully.

He grinned as he walked back over to you, his hands burning hot against the coldness of your legs as he wrapped his hands around your hips, looking deep into your eyes.

"They're mine, and I'm not just talking about the pants."

Throwing your arms around him and kissing him passionately, you were interrupted yet again from the sound of Rebecca's voice ringing through the air from down below.

"Guys! Animus!"

"Wait... If we can hear her....."

Bursting into laughter, you both quickly fixed your clothes the best you could and made your way back down through the Temple, blushing heavily as you were met with three smirking faces when you reached the bottom. Trying to ignore the stares, you made your way over to the Animus and lay down next to Desmond who now had a cheeky look on his face, your head jerking up as Rebecca broke the unnerving silence first, grinning wildly.

"About time, guess I don't need to pull you out anymore (name)."

You felt like the rock was going to melt underneath you as you lay back down and closed your eyes, but then a wide smile began creeping up your face when you felt Desmond hold your hand as everything shattered around you.

 

 

Wiping the drip of water off your neck that had fallen from the ceiling, you lifted your lantern higher to see better in the scarcely lit tunnel.

"Connor, are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Yes, it isn't much further now, stay close to me."

Stopping for a moment to watch Connor light a torch on the wall, you took a deep breath to try and calm your nerves. You had never been fond of enclosed spaces, and this was definitely no exception. Beginning to feel a bit better when you spotted Lafayette and Stephane further ahead, you hung back and let the men converse as the passage was narrower where they were standing.

"Isa, let's go. This is the way to the military district," said Connor softly before grabbing your hand as he noticed your distress.

"You should have told me that being underground made you uncomfortable before we came down here."

"I will not let some silly fear stop me from doing our mission, you should know me better than that. Shhh, we're here."

Following Connor up the ladder of the well you had come to, you pressed yourself hard against the rungs as you watched him pull a guard over the edge, hurling him down to the tunnel below. You immediately felt like your normal self again as soon as you jumped out of the well, and hid in a bush just beside it.

"Isa, we do not have much time to light the signal fire. You take the right, and I will take the left. Try not to be seen."

You pulled your hood up and smiled as Connor caressed your cheek briefly before climbing up the side of the house, you following close behind. Hiding behind a chimney as you spotted a sniper on the roof, you kept your head low and crept towards him, clapping your hand over his mouth and sinking your blade into his back, killing him without a sound.

Looking up to see Connor was a lot further ahead than you were, you concentrated on taking out more of the snipers on the roof to aid him. Jumping over to the next house, you pulled out a dagger and hurled it towards the next guard you had spotted, running over and catching him shortly after it had embedded in his neck, stopping him from falling to the ground and alerting the others.

Silently working your way over the tops, you managed to take out another two guards that would have spotted Connor as he climbed the tower to send the signal.

You grinned as you saw a blaze erupt in the near distance, leaping down to the ground as the sound of cannon fire almost immediately rang through the air. Running through the streets and managing to avoid the houses that were being destroyed around you, you started to panic when you saw no sign of Connor.

Freezing to the spot when you were sure you heard his voice through the deafening barrage, you closed your eyes for a second to try and locate where it had come from. Leaping into a sprint to your right, you managed to squeeze through a gap in a broken wall, terror filling you as you saw Connor on the ground, bloodied and beaten with Haytham Kenway leaning over him, blade out and ready to strike.

Without a second thought, you bolted over and threw yourself against the Templar, knocking him off of Connor, sending both of you tumbling over the ground. You cried out as you felt a sudden sharp pain in your chest, gasping for breath and unable to move as you watched Kenway get up and run back towards Connor, crouching back over him the same as before. Pressing your hand against your chest where the now raging ache was, you lifted it to your face to see it was completely covered in blood.

"Isa!!! No!!!"

You turned your head just in time to see Connor sink his blade into Haythams throat before throwing him off the top of him, rolling over and scrambling across the dirt towards you. Tears began to leak treacherously down your face as Connor pulled you in his arms, cradling you and ripping your shirt open to see your wound. The look on his face told you everything that you needed to know, you began coughing up blood as you just managed to lift your hand to his cheek to wipe away the tear that rolled down.

"Isa! Please, hold on, you can't leave me!"

His arms tightened around you as you wheezed and struggled to breathe, shivering as you began to feel the cold sinking its claws deep in your chest. Blinking rapidly as your vision began to blur, you grabbed onto his hood and held tightly, refusing to let go. Just able to take a short, staggered breath and smile softly, you whispered three words just before your eyes fluttered shut, and everything went dark.

"I love you......."

 

 

 

Desmond sat up with a start, clutching his chest and breathing heavily as he felt like his heart was about to explode. His brow scrunched up as he looked to his side to see that you were still in the Animus, before turning to Rebecca and Shaun who's faces were contorted in worry.

"What are you waiting for?! Get her out!"

"Desmond..." Rebecca said in a low whisper.

Ignoring his colleague, he turned back to you and started shaking your arm in attempts to wake you up, becoming more worried when it had no effect.

"(Name), C'mon, wake up!"

"Desmond..." Rebecca whispered again.

"What?!?"

His face snapped up angrily when he felt a hand on his shoulder, looking up to see Williams face twisted in dismay.

"Son... She's in a coma."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A million apologies for not updating this one, my muse has become infatuated with Jacob and has run off with him. I promise i will get it done when she's finished Indulging with the cheeky bastard!


	8. Chapter 8

Flicking your eyes open, you cried out and clutched at your chest as a searing pain ran straight through your ribs. Taking a deep breath which seemed to help slightly, you managed to look around, your face scrunching up in confusion. You were still in the Animus, but the memory you had just been in was frozen in time, and you weren't living it anymore, merely a spectator.

Looking down, a tear rolled over your cheek as you saw Connor holding Isabella tightly, at the very moment she had closed her eyes. You spun around quickly when you heard an echoing voice behind you, your eyes finally landing on the ghostly image of a woman that you had seen before.

"Juno?! What's going on?"

She walked closer over to you, staring down at Isa for a moment before turning her attention back to you.

_"It seems there is another."_

"Another?! Another what?!*

_"You. You can also activate the Temple, to stop the disaster that will wipe out the human race. A choice needs to be made."_

Understanding now why Desmond was getting so annoyed whenever he spoke to her, you crossed your arms in annoyance, hoping she would get the message.

"What, Choice? You're not exactly being helpful."

_"One of you will live, one of you will die. Both do nothing, and everyone will perish."_

"Wait?! What!? No! Come back!"

You reached out as she began to fade away, before dropping to your knees and putting your head in your hands when she completely disappeared.

_"Choose (name)."_

"No! I will not choose!" you screamed into the empty sky.

 

 

Rebecca was typing frantically as she watched the screen with your sync waves on it, trying to pull you out of the Animus when they became erratic, slamming her fists on the table when they became steady again.

"Becca?! Did it work?!"

She laid her hand gently on Desmond's arm when he rushed over and leaned over the desk, shaking her head gently as she looked up at his hopeful expression.

"Sorry Desmond, it was gone again before I had the chance."

Rebecca winced when Desmond brushed off her hand angrily and pushed himself back up, pacing about and concentrating hard.

"That's the sixth time in ten days, can't you work faster?! What about putting me back in that memory??"

"You know that won't work Desmond, we've already tried that. I've managed to locate William and the last power source, they're in Italy, the same place they were holding you, so we need to get going."

Desmond clenched his fists in annoyance as he turned to Shaun, glaring at him hard before walking back over to where you were laying, dropping to his knees and holding your hand, taking care not to brush against the needle that was in it for your drip.

"I'm not leaving her. What if her waves spike while we're gone? We'll have lost an opportunity to get her out."

Rebecca walked over and grabbed Desmond by his hood, dragging him up and shaking him hard to try and make him see sense.

"Snap out of it! If we don't stop this solar flare, she dies! We all, die! Now pull yourself together."

Her voice softened when his head lowered in dismay, trying to understand how hard this must be for him.

"Look, I can set it up so I can monitor her remotely okay? Now let's get going, we haven't much time."

 

 

_"Desmond are you there?"_

Desmond fiddled with his earpiece for a moment to try and make out what Rebecca was saying through the static; the last Templar guard he had fought having damaged it slightly when he was caught from behind.

"Yes, I can hear you now. Which way am I going?"

_"Fifth floor, Vidic's office is just ahead."_

"I'm on my way."

_"Okay. And Desmond? Hurry."_

Rebecca stared at the security camera feed just long enough so see Desmond's panic-stricken expression as he ran off towards another group of Abstergo guards, before turning back to the screen that had your stats and video feed on it, typing wildly when your waves spiked again.

"C'mon (name), hold on. Please." She whispered to herself after banging her hands on the counter when the line steadied.

 

 

 

Doubling over and collapsing to the floor in agony when the surging pain tore through your chest again, your eyes flickered to the memory of Connor and Isa, which was disintegrating more and more every time it replayed the moment of Isa's death. Standing back up then the pain had finally subsided, you began pacing about again and looked at your watch; which you had set to stop clock, and frowned when you saw that the replays were becoming more frequent.

Just as you reset it to zero again, you jumped as you saw something move out of the corner of your eye. Turning to the side to see the apparition of Juno again, you clenched your fists in anger as she made her way to where you were.

"What do you want!? Don't you get tired of bugging me?"

_"Have you chosen?"_

"For the hundredth time, No! I am not choosing who lives or dies! And you can't make me!"

Turning your back to her, you let out an exasperated sigh when you took a long blink to fight back your tears, only to open them to see her standing in front of you again.

_"You are weakening. Your mind cannot withstand this Animus for much longer."_

"I'm fine."

You stared at her directly as you hissed at her through gritted teeth, trying not to let on that you knew she was right. The pain in your chest was getting stronger with every pass, and your emotions were running wild, one minute you were laughing for no reason, then you were searing with rage the next. The only thing that had kept you going was the thought of Desmond, and the team, who you knew would be doing everything they could to get you out.

_"I can help you... "_

"You can what now? What do you mean, help me?"

_"I can release your mind from this prison. Assure me that you will activate the Temple once you are freed."_

"Pffft. That sounds an awful lot like blackmail you know. Besides, I don't believe you. If you could do that then you would have mentioned something before."

Screaming out when the surge of fire ripped through your chest again, you gasped for breath when the torment was more intense and lasted longer than before. Coughing and wheezing when it finally eased a little, you looked over to the Assassins, panicking slightly when you could barely make them out anymore, only ghostly dark figures with very little features remaining.

_"Do you wish to take the chance? Lose your mind in here, and you will die. Desmond will die activating the Temple. If I release you, only one of you will need to perish. Choose."_

Pulling yourself straight when she disappeared from sight again, you glanced at your watch to see it said 99:99:99. Slumping down on the floor when you realised that your brain was now incapable of keeping track of time, you buried your head in your arms and contemplated Juno's proposal.

 

 

Desmond stared at the bodies on the floor for a moment, before flicking out his blade to cut through William's bonds.

"Son, you risked everything, put everything on the line, to rescue your father?!"

"You're welcome."

Desmond handed William an earpiece so he could communicate with Shaun and Rebecca, opening up his rucksack so he could drop in the last remaining power source that was laying on Vidic's desk.

"We better get going, there's more guards coming this way." Chided Desmond as he headed towards the door, stopping when he saw William staring into space. His brow furrowed in confusion when he realised his father was listening to someone on the comms, but he couldn't hear a thing.

"Rebecca, how much time do we have?........ I see.......I have an idea, but Desmond won't like it."

"Hey, I'm right here! What won't I like?"

William shook his head softly as he headed out the doorway, deep in concentration while Desmond pushed the button to the elevator that would take them back down to the lobby.

"Son, I've had a thought. The Apple, has the ability to control minds. If you could wield it's power, just enough, I believe we could use it on (Name) to pull her out of the coma."

"What?! Are you insane?? Didn't you just see what this thing did? It could kill her!"

Laying his hand on Desmond's arm, he grabbed his wrist when he tried to pull away in anger, hoping that he would see sense in the matter.

"I've just spoken to Rebecca and Shaun, she doesn't have much time left. If we don't try something soon, her mind will be lost. I believe this is the best course of action. I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise."

Desmond slumped his shoulders in defeat, resigning to the fact that everything else that you had tried had been futile. Pulling out the Apple when he stepped off the elevator, he channelled its power to subdue the guards that were heading towards him, making them drop to the ground dead, panicking slightly in what would happen if he weren't able to control it enough.

"Fine. But if she dies, then this is over. Everything, is over. I'll have nothing left to live for."

 

 

Desmond ran down the path to the Temple as fast as he could, ignoring the shouts from William and Rebecca to wait for him as he dropped down by your side. He glanced up when the rest of the group caught up, breathless and red-faced from the running.

"This had better work....." He mumbled as he pulled out the Apple of Eden from his bag, his eyes narrowing in concentration as it began emitting a faint yellow glow.

 

 

Crawling on the floor when you realised that you couldn't get up, the last repeat of the memory almost completely draining you of energy, you managed to pull yourself up on all fours just as everything started to go dark. There was barely anything left of the memory now, no background, no Connor, only a flicker of Isa's shadowy face remaining. You slumped back down to the floor and grabbed your head, trying to remember the name of the man that swam through your mind. _Les? No, it began with a D. Did it? Maybe a B?_ Rolling onto your back when you couldn't recall it, a tear trickled down your cheek as you screamed out one name that you did remember.

"Juno!!"

Wiping away the wetness from your eyes so you could focus better, you turned your head to the side as the astral voice rang through the air, straining your neck to see her as she knelt down by your head.

_"Have you chosen (name)"_

"Chosen? Chosen what?!" You whispered, wracking your brain to try and figure out what she was talking about. 

Your eyes never left her as she stood up and circled around you, lowering her head and staring at you with what looked like pity.

_"Do you wish to live?"_

"Of course I want to live!"

Gathering all the strength you could muster, you managed to sit yourself up, stumbling over for a moment and grasping at thin air when you attempted to get to your feet. Finally able to balance after a lot of swaying, your eyes widened as she said something which sparked some familiarity.

_"Will you activate the Temple? Your memories will return soon after I release you."_

Just before you had the chance to answer, your attention was broken away as you looked down at your body, to see that it was starting to hum with a pale yellow hue. Looking back up at Juno, you tilted your head in confusion as she now looked panicked and angry.

_"Answer me now, there is no more time."_

"I... Um..." You stuttered, looking back down to see the glow growing in ferocity, almost completely covering you now. You spun around furiously as you heard a voice behind you, not Juno's, but a man's voice that sent a surge of power running throughout you.

**"(Name).........come back........"**

Glancing back at the spectral woman, you smirked when you saw her face contorted in rage, reaching out to try and grab you. You fell to your knees and closed your eyes as the glow completely enveloped you, letting out a piercing scream as it felt like someone was ripping out your heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My muse is back! Thank you all for being so patient, you can expect regular updates again after the Christmas break :)


	9. Chapter 9

You sat up with a start, clutching your chest and attempting to scream but, as much as you tried, no sound came out. Panic consumed you as you took in your surroundings; two unfamiliar men and a woman staring at you aghast, another man kneeling next to you and holding your hand with some kind of glowing orb in his other palm, and you were sat on a stone slab with a thin tube in your arm. Before anyone could say anything, you rolled off the concrete and ripped the drip out of your hand, sending a spurt of blood up your arm as you turned to run away.

"(Name), stop!"

You shrieked and lashed out as you felt a pair of strong arms wrap around you, writhing and squirming as you tried to get out of the strange man's embrace, but it did you no good as he held onto you tightly. You suddenly froze as he whispered into your ear, turning you around so that you faced him, still holding you firmly, refusing to let go.

"(Name), it's Des. Remember me, come back to me."

Staring into his eyes, that were dark and full of hope, a glimmer of recognition spread over you, his words running through your mind that triggered a swarm of emotions.

"Des?"

You melted into his arms and began sobbing as images of your time together ran through your head, wiping away your tears as he littered kisses all over your face, his hold on you tightening as if he was never going to let you leave his arms again.

"I can't believe it worked....." He whispered against the top of your head as his hand moved up to cup your chin, his thumb running over your lips tenderly.

"What worked? What happened?"

"You've been in the Animus for nearly two weeks. We couldn't get you out, we... I, nearly lost you."

You were grateful for his tight hold on you when your knees buckled from underneath you, the initial shock and adrenaline wearing off that made you feel as weak as a newborn baby.

"Easy, I've got you. Let Rebecca check you over alright?"

Nodding and draping your arms over his shoulders as he picked you up in his arms and carried you back to where the others were, you massaged your temples as he sat you down back on the stone slab, to try and shift the last remnants of the fog in your head. You sat there silently as Rebecca wrapped a cuff around your arm to take your blood pressure and stuck a monitor on your head, not even noticing anyone was talking to you until William crouched down in front of you and gently lay his hand on your knee.

"(Name). I understand this may be a lot for you to handle right now, but what happened? In the Animus?"

You flinched at the sound of rapid beeping from beside you, your heart rate jumping through the roof as you recalled the searing pain in your chest, and Juno trying to make you choose between yours and Desmonds lives.

"It was Juno." You let out in a barely audible whisper. "She said she would only let me out if I promised to activate the Temple."

"What? Aren't we trying to do that already?"

Looking up at Shaun who was now pacing back and forth in front of his desk, you shrugged your shoulders and lowered your head, hoping that nobody could tell that you weren't telling the whole truth.

"Well, whatever she wants, we can worry about that later. I'm taking (name) out of this godforsaken place before she can do anything like that again. Rebecca, is she okay to move?"

Draping your arm over Desmond's shoulder as he helped you up, you purposely diverted your gaze from William who was now staring at you intently, mouth gaping like he wanted to ask you something.

"Yes, she's perfectly fine. Just a little weak, but I don't think its a great idea. She's only just come out, I should run more tests, and Abstergo are going to be everywhere after our last escapade....."

"I don't care! Tests can wait, (Name) nearly died in there! Don't you think she's been through enough!?"

You stood frozen to the spot and wide-eyed when Desmond barked out angrily at Rebecca, wincing when you could feel him trembling in rage.

"Son, calm down. You should be alright for a while, especially with Vidic gone. Let me help. You go to the van, we will be there shortly."

Taking Williams arm when Desmond gave him a surly nod, you tensed up when he walked you over to the other side of the temple, out of earshot of the rest of the team. Sitting down on a nearby rock, you took a staggered breath when William sat down next to you, staring at the wall thoughtfully.

"I have worked with you long enough to know when you are hiding something (name). What aren't you telling me?"

Grimacing when he turned to you and gave you a look that would make even the devil himself feel ashamed, you glanced around to make sure that no one else definitely couldn't hear you, ignoring the churning nervous ache in the pit of your stomach and braced yourself, to tell the truth.

"When I was in there, I kept reliving the moment of Isa's death. It was torture, the pain, the memory, I thought I was going to lose my mind. That was when Juno came up with the proposition. Well, more like blackmail actually. She said that I was 'another'. Another person who could activate the Temple, and I had to make a choice."

Looking up to see William was now staring over at the wall, you continued on hesitantly, your voice cracking as you recalled Juno's words.

"Whoever turns it on, will die. Either me, or Desmond."

Your brows furrowed in confusion when his face never changed, showing no hint of emotion, your temper quickly rising when he just sat there.

"Aren't you going to say anything?! I've just told you, that either your son, or me, is going to die! Don't you care??"

"You have just confirmed my suspicions. Something that has caused me many a sleepless night. Did you? Choose?"

"Of course not." You uttered quietly, wiping away yet another tear that rolled down your cheek. Your legs felt slightly stronger when William took your hands and pulled you up to standing again, laying his hand on the small of your back and guiding you to the Temple entrance to where Desmond was waiting.

"Good. Try not to concern yourself about it, for now, you need to rest. Give me some time, there has to be a way out of it."

"Hmph, easier said than done, boss."

Immediately shutting up when you got to the ramp, you gave William a nod as you took Desmond's arm, and slowly made your way out of the cave. You closed your eyes and tilted your face up to the sky as soon as it came into view, sighing gently as the sun's warmth surrounded you for the first time in weeks. Flicking your eyes back open when you felt Desmond's fingers caress your cheek, your heart started beating furiously when you couldn't figure out his expression. There was worry, definitely, mixed with anger, but there was something you couldn't pinpoint, and it made you feel nervous. Climbing into the van when he opened the door for you, you managed a soft smile when he took your hand in his, and squeezed your fingers gently.

"So where are we going?"

Pulling your seatbelt on when he started the ignition, you lay your hands across your stomach when it began growling loudly enough to make Desmond chuckle slightly.

"Anywhere away from here. Sleep, food, anything that's normal. It was shit like this that made me run away before, but this time it's worse. I don't care what happens to me anymore. All I care about is that you are safe, and I will do everything I can to make that happen."

"Des, no-one is safe....." you blurted out before you could stop yourself, wincing when he banged his fists on the steering wheel in frustration.

"I know! Can't we just have... Just one day, where we can pretend that the world isn't about to end? Years, we've been fighting, hiding, searching... I just want..."

You lowered your head when his voice trailed off, finally understanding what he has been going through all this time. In and out of the Animus, being kidnapped and used by Abstergo, any sane person would have probably gone mad from the responsibility by now. In attempts to give him what he wanted, you leaned forwards and fiddled with the radio, chuckling slightly when Rihanna's 'We Found Love' blared out of the speakers.

Raising your eyebrows in surprise when he grabbed your hand as you went to switch the song off, you laced your fingers with his when he shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

"Pretty fitting, leave it on."

"Fitting? What are you trying to say Des?"

Wiggling your eyebrows and grinning when he cleared his throat and stared at the road ahead; a tinge of pink creeping up his face, you pulled out the map from the glovebox and spread it out in front of you, glancing through all of Rebecca's post-it notes that were littered all over it that marked out some decent food places.

"How about Watertown? It's only an hour away, and according to Becca, the Texas Roadhouse has 'amazeballs' ribs and steak?"

Bursting out laughing when Desmond nodded furiously at the thought of having steak, you stuffed the map back in the box and slumped back in your seat, pushing the unnerving feeling you'd had in the pit of your gut since you woke from the Animus aside, determined to have even just one evening of normality.

 

 

Finally finding a vacant motel after an extra twenty-odd minutes of searching about, you stayed in the van while Desmond went and got a room after grabbing your overnight bags out of the back, more than slightly grateful that William had always insisted that everyone had to be prepared for a last minute trip. You held onto your stomach tightly when it began churning again, grimacing when the unnerving feeling began to creep back up as you spotted the spatter of blood running up your arm from where the drip had been. You were just cleaning yourself up with a wipe when your door opened, Desmond frowning for a moment when he saw the deep bruise emerging on your hand, before forcing himself to smile as he helped you out.

"We were lucky to get a room, some kind of convention going on this weekend. Loads of people in suits about, but fingers crossed it's busy enough about so that no-one will find us here. You okay?"

Wrapping your arms around his waist as he closed the door and locked it, the ache in the pit of your gut dissolved away rapidly, and was replaced by the usual fluttering that always happened whenever you were close to him.

"No, not really. You do realise that you haven't kissed me for two weeks?"

The fake smile he adorned quickly morphed into a genuine one as he pulled you tightly against him, his lips crashing against yours in an almost bruising kiss that made you whimper into his mouth. He pulled away and chuckled as your stomach growled again, trailing his fingers down your back and smirking when he felt you shudder at his touch.

"Trust me, I'd realised. Just didn't think you'd appreciate me throwing myself at you at the moment."

Lacing your fingers with his as you walked down the street, you pulled down his sleeve when you noticed his hidden blade was still on view for all to see.

"Such a gentleman. But definitely not necessary."

You giggled and looked up at him coyly, biting your bottom lip when he dropped your hand and walked his fingers over your rear, squeezing each cheek in turn.

"Gentleman? Nah, you're just lucky that I'm as hungry as you are at the moment."

 

 

After demolishing a meal that two burly truck drivers would have struggled to even eat, you left the restaurant in search of some kind of entertainment for the evening. 

"How on earth did you manage all that steak? I'm surprised you even had room for dessert."

Grinning wildly and feeling a lot better now that you'd eaten, you took Desmond's hand and pulled him down the street to what looked like a pool hall and bowling alley.

"Hey, I've not eaten in two weeks remember? And that wasn't dessert, that comes later."

Watching his startled expression change into something more sensual as you threw him a seductive wink, you pulled the door open to the arcade and made a beeline straight for the bar, completely forgetting the events that happened earlier today. Buying a couple of bottles of beer, you made your way over to the pool tables and perched yourself on the edge of a stool while Desmond set the game up, suddenly realising that you were searching around for where all the exits were.

You managed to shake yourself off and flash Desmond a bright smile as he handed you a cue, frowning playfully when you realised that he had already broke, and managed to pot three balls.

"You better not be using that eagle vision shit to cheat!"

"As if I would....."

Putting your hand on your hip and scowling at him as he attempted to feign ignorance, you burst out laughing when he couldn't hold his expression anymore, his face creasing in amusement.

"Bloody Assassin.... " you mumbled under your breath, taking a deep swig of your drink before leaning over the table to take your own shot.

 

 

Several hours and a few beers later, you slapped your head when Desmond had just beaten you for the fifth time in a row. Leaning you cue up against the wall, you pulled him towards you and pouted when he chuckled at your grumpy expression.

"Maybe next time I'll blindfold you, that might make it a bit more even."

"You know that would be pointless, I could still see through it...."

Raising your eyebrows as he winked at you suggestively, you let out an exasperated sigh as your phone began to ring in your pocket. Digging it out as Desmond called to the waitress for another round of drinks, you hit the end call button when you saw Williams name on the caller ID.

"Can't he just let us have one night?"

Turning your phone off when he called back again almost immediately, you pretty much snatched up the bottle of beer off the waitresses tray as she brought it over, knocking back half its contents and slamming it down on the table when Desmond's phone started ringing.

"I'll see what he wants okay? Be back in a sec, I won't be able to hear him with the music blaring."

Smiling softly and nodding when he stroked your cheek with the back of his hand before stomping off to see what his father wanted, you picked up your beer again and fiddled with the label, wondering why you let yourself get worked up over something so stupid. Chalking it up to spending so much time in the Animus, your attention flickered over to the table on your left, which had two half drunken businessmen leaning against it, who had been leering at you for the past half hour.

You raised your eyebrow when the taller of the two stumbled towards you, jumping out of your seat and picking up the pool cue to start playing another game when he leaned on the table close to you.

"Had a bust-up with the fella love? Lemmie buy you a drink, cheer you up a bit."

"I'm quite alright thank you, I've got my own."

Fiddling with the chalk as he moved closer and perched himself on the side of the pool table, your stomach lurched when he lay his hand on your arm and nodded towards his friend to come over.

"Awww don't be like that, just tryin to be nice like. Don't like seeing a pretty girl looking so down."

You started to feel intimidated when the other man came up and stood behind you, his scotch laced breath hot on your cheek as he leaned over and passed his friend his forgotten shot. Brushing his hand off of you and moving to the other side of the table, you huffed under your breath when both men followed you around, blocking your way from the game.

"Fellas, I appreciate the sentiment, but do you fancy getting out of the way? I'm trying to play here."

"I have a much better stick that you can play with ya know."

Your patience now wearing thin as he knocked back his drink and licked his lips suggestively at you, your grip tightened on the cue when he closed the gap between you, trailing his fingers down your arm in such a way that it made you grimace.

"Hmph, doubt you've got anything big enough that I'd enjoy playing with. Now please, get out of my way."

Flickering your gaze to the side for a moment when his friend burst out laughing, your breath stuck in your throat when you felt a hand grasp your wrist tightly, looking back to see the man's face twisted in anger.

"Little bitch, that weren't nice now was it. Think you need to learn some manners."

Your heart started beating furiously when you couldn't pull yourself free, your jaw clenching in rage when he began pushing you back quite forcefully towards the wall. In a split second without even thinking, you hitched the cue up further in your hand and spun it around, whacking it against his knuckles that were still holding your wrist tightly, making him let go.

"Don't. Touch me."

Swirling the piece of wood around again when he advanced towards you menacingly, you cracked it against the back of his legs; making him tumble backwards and crash to the floor with a yelp, before flipping around gracefully and jabbing the other man straight in the gut with the tip, knocking the wind out of him as he lunged towards you wide-eyed.

Kneeling over the one that was crumpled on the floor, you grabbed his tie and yanked him up, your voice a low growl as you moved your face to within an inch of his.

"I suggest you find someone else to bother."

Dropping him to the ground when you heard someone call your name, you looked up to see Desmond harshly push the other man out of the way, extending his hand to help you up.

"(Name) what happened? You alright?"

Calming down quickly and stepping over the man who was now rolling around on the floor, mumbling something about suing you, you dropped the cue on the floor when you realised Desmond was staring at your hand in amazement.

"Yeah, I'm fine. These two were just leaving, weren't you fellas." 

Sitting back down on your stool, you glanced around to see several onlookers staring at you, whispering to each other as the men dragged themselves up and stumbled back to their own table. Pulling your attention back when you felt Desmond take your hands in his and squeeze them tightly, you cocked your head confusedly when he just stared at you, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"When did you learn to defend yourself like that?"

"Ummm, I didn't. Never done anything like that before in my life. Why don't you seem surprised?"

Finishing off the last of your drink when he just shrugged his shoulders and did the same, you hastily made your way out of the arcade and headed back towards the motel before you drew any more attention to yourselves.

"Hmmm, seems like the Animus did more than make you realise that you wanted me. It was actually kinda hot, what you did back there."

Stifling a chuckle and shaking your head as he fumbled with the key to open the door to your room, you let out a little squeak as he pulled you in his arms as soon as you had got in.

"Is that so? Well, we're doing nothing until I've taken a shower and you've dialled your ego down a notch."


	10. Chapter 10

Finally feeling a bit more human now that you had showered, you wrapped the towel around yourself and headed back into your room. You couldn't stop a wide grin from spreading over your face when you saw Desmond laying on the bed in just his boxers, flicking through the tv channels for something to watch. He gave up as soon as you walked in, switching it off and shuffling up the bed when you crawled on, draping his arm around you when you snuggled up to his chest.

"Better now?"

Nodding furiously against him, you let out a soft sigh in contentment when his other hand came up around you, tracing indiscernible patterns down your arm as he kissed the top of your head.

"Mmmm, yep. You didn't say what William wanted?"

"Dunno, he wouldn't tell me. Just said he was working on what you'd told him, but needed to ask you something."

His grip around you tightened when he felt you tense up, your heart feeling heavy when you knew exactly what William wanted to talk to you about.

"Hey, you okay? What's wrong?" Desmond whispered worriedly, tilting your chin up and looking down at you with his face filled full of concern. Pushing the feeling away, you strained up and captured his lips in a soft kiss, hoping that it would quell any ideas that something was the matter.

"I'm good, he just wants to know more about Juno. Not something I'm in the mood to talk about tonight."

From the look that crept up his face, you could tell that he knew that you were lying, but thankfully he didn't press the matter for now. The corner of your mouth twitched when you suddenly realised that the hand that was stroking your arm had moved slightly, his fingers ever so subtly fiddling with the front of the towel where it was tucked in.

"Des I told you, I'm fine." You mumbled, trailing your finger over the obvious strain in his boxers. You yelped when in one swift movement the towel was pulled open, giggling when his hands slid underneath it and tugged you up to straddling over him.

"Just checking."

A small moan erupted in your throat when his fingers curled around your neck and pulled you closer to capture your mouth with his hungrily, gently biting your bottom lip, which immediately made you part them so his tongue could flick over your own. Your head began to swim with the fierceness of the kiss, his hands roaming over you in complete contrast with his mouth; softly, gently, savouring every little twitch your body made as your skin set ablaze under his touch. You smiled against his lips when you pushed yourself down and ground against his hard crotch, eliciting a loud groan deep in his chest from the much needed friction that you both desperately craved.

You lifted your hips when you felt his fingers graze the inside of your thighs, pulling away from his kiss slightly and whimpering when he worked his hand between your legs and trailed his middle and forefinger through your crease, which not surprisingly, was already slick even though he had barely touched you. Taking advantage of the space between you, you managed to hook your fingers around the waistband of his boxers and wiggle them down his thighs, stuttering when he suddenly plunged his fingers deep inside you, making you cry out as he caressed your walls, sending a jolt of electricity running straight through you.

Clinging on to a shred of coherent thought, you managed to continue pushing the fabric down, your already rapid breathing getting faster as you saw he was painfully hard, swollen and glistening with drips of his arousal for you. Pulling his hand away from between your legs, you manoeuvred yourself over him, lining him up so his tip was just poking at your entrance.

Draping your arms over his shoulders, you held his gaze as you slowly lowered yourself down, both moaning loudly in unison as he unhurriedly sank deep inside you, relishing in the overwhelming sensations that only the unbreakable bond between you could provide. Desmond wound his arms around you and pulled you closer to him as you began to rock your hips, his breath hitching as your warmth, your softness and clamouring moans enveloped him. You feel light headed as he started to thrust up against your rhythm, striking every single pleasurable spot inside you, the tight coil of a growing orgasm building rapidly as he filled you over and over.

Your moans soon turn into his name as his hold on you tightened, giving him more leverage to move against you faster, his unwavering focus of affection fueling the burning desire inside you close to tipping point. Knowing that you were close from the tensing of your body, he managed to squeeze his hand between you and brush his fingers over your sensitive bud, making your climax burst throughout you so forcefully, your vision went cloudy and you began to shake as the sheer inhibited pleasure consumed you. 

Holding on to him as firmly as your muscles would allow when he stopped his movements and slid his legs to the side, carefully lowering you on your back, you mewled against his neck when he unintentionally thrust into you hard as he kicked off his boxers that were still wrapped around his legs.

"I'm sorry, are you alright?" he whispered against your cheek before nudging you with his nose, making you turn your head so he could kiss you softly.

You nodded gently as you wrapped your legs around his waist, bucking your hips up in urging him to continue. Letting out a shuddering moan as he steadily thrust into you, he pulled an arm from underneath you to stroke the side of your face, gazing into your eyes devotedly as he savoured every detail of you underneath him. The few strands of hair that were stuck to your head, the sheen of sweat that coated your body that made you blissfully slide against him as he moved, the way the corner of your lip curved when he leant in to kiss you. All of these things and more made him further sure that you were the only woman that could make him feel this way.

Dragging your hands down his back as he continued with his slow, tender pace, a warmth started to grow inside you, something different which you had never experienced before. Your heart was now pounding in your chest, feeling like you would drown in the new sensation that was coursing through your blood when his arm curled around you tighter, his breath hot against your skin as he littered kisses across your cheek, stopping to whisper almost inaudibly in your ear.

"I love you (name)"

Your legs gripped around his waist when after a moment you registered what he had said, nudging his cheek with your own to make him lean back slightly to face you, gazing up at him adoringly. You trailed your hand up to the back of his head, running your fingers through his hair as you pulled him in for a gentle kiss, keeping your face close to his as you tried to speak through the cracking in your voice.

"I... love you too Des."

As soon as the words spilt over your lips, the rising heat that had been building inside you rose to a euphoric height, making you cry out as it overwhelmed your body with wave after wave of exhilarating fire that refused to die down as Desmond's pace quickened. You assumed he was feeling the same way when he began to tremble against you, quietly groaning your name over and over against your lips as you felt him flood deep inside you, which only served to prolong the surging pleasure running through your veins. For a few moments, you both remained silent, unmoving and breathing heavily in each others embrace as you basked in the hazy afterglow of your climaxes. You continued to feel like electricity was running throughout you as he pulled away slightly and trailed his finger over your lips, his mouth curving into a wide smile as he watched you sink into the bed contentedly.

"That was...."

"You felt it too?" you breathed quietly, your eyebrows raising slightly when he softly nodded and kissed your cheek.

"I have no idea what it was, but I'm definitely not complaining."

Grinning as he pulled you up to sitting along with himself, you shoved the blankets down so you could get into bed, snuggling up to him and burying your face in his chest when he lay on his side and motioned for you to come into his arms. You let out a tranquil sigh as he kissed the top of your head and leaned over to switch off the lamp, his fingers caressing your back as you listened to the beat of his heart which began to lull you off to sleep a deep sleep.

 

 

A few hours later, your eyes snapped open, a strangled cry tearing from your throat as the nightmare that had woken you carried on playing through your mind. You quickly looked up to see Desmond still fast asleep, the sickening dread in the pit of your stomach disappearing quickly as you continued to watch his eyes dance behind his lids and breathing slowly. 

The dream had been so vivid; Desmond standing in front of a glowing orb, his hand hovering over it as it radiated more brightly with each passing second. The moment he touched it, shards of light tore through his body, dazzling brightness surrounding him as the sphere activated, before his body slumped to the floor, completely void of life. Choking back a sob, you took a deep breath and kissed him gently on his cheek, a slight of a smile creeping up your face when he didn't even stir, only the corner of his lips twitching. Carefully lifting his arm from around your waist, you slid out of bed as quietly as you could, locating your phone on the bedside table and used the light from the screen to find your clothes. Grabbing Desmond's hoodie and pulling it on as you hadn't thought to bring one of your own, you inhaled the scent of the fabric as you lay your hand on the door handle, gazing longingly at the figure in the bed for a moment before silently making your way outside.

Pulling the van keys out of the jacket pocket, you unlocked the door and jumped in the driver's seat, taking a quick glance around to make sure that no one was about and thought you were stealing the vehicle. You let off the handbrake and pulled the door shut as the van rolled back and away from the motel, starting the ignition when you were far enough away for the engine not to be heard. Driving towards the 7-ELEVEn you spotted on the way over here, you pulled up to the carpark and rested your head on the steering wheel, your brain whirlwind out of control, trying to figure out what to do. Sitting up straight, you clenched your jaw in resolve and jumped out of the van, determination filling you like always when you had a difficult task ahead of you. 

You didn't have an answer, yet, but you cannot, **will not,** just sit idly by and let whatever Juno had predicted happen. Running into the store and grabbing supplies along with several cans of energy drink, you made your way back to the motel and parked close enough to the main reception so you could piggyback their WiFi. Glancing at your watch and seeing it was just after 3 am, you sat in the back of the van and pulled out your laptop, hoping that Shaun had left his computer running overnight so you could hack into his notes and findings on the Temple.

Chucking the last empty can on the floor, you slapped your hands on your legs when you came across yet another dead end. Nothing that Shaun had researched or observed shed any light as to how the mechanism actually worked, so there was no way of figuring out what effect it would have on either yourself, or Desmond. Hoping that William had much better luck than you, you shoved your computer back in its bag and jumped out of the van, frowning when you saw that it was now light out.

You sneaked back into the room as quietly as you could, breathing a sigh of relief when you saw that Desmond was still in bed. You had barely dropped your phone and keys on the table when you heard a shuffling across the room, freezing when you spied movement in the dim light.

"Where did you go?"

Not wanting him to know what you had been doing, you walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it, leaning over and giving him a quick peck on the cheek as you kicked off your shoes.

"You know I don't sleep much, went for a walk so I didn't wake you."

"For three hours?"

Thankful that he couldn't see your face very well and could tell you were lying, you dropped down beside him and draped your arm over his waist, pressing yourself up against his back. Letting a huge grin spread over your face as he shuffled around to face you, your eyebrows raised when he tilted your chin up and kissed you tenderly, the glimmer of warmth flickering inside you again.

"Well, I did go to the store, needed caffeine. You've been awake this whole time?"

Sitting up when he shrugged his shoulders, you went to unzip his hoodie and shrug it off, chuckling when he stopped you and pulled you back down next to him.

"Suits you. You can borrow it for now, you're not stealing anything else though."

You squealed as he rolled on top of you and pinned your arms above your head, littering kisses all over your face and neck, making you immediately forget every single worry you had at that moment. Humming serenely when he let go of your wrists and propped himself up on his elbows above you, trailing his fingers over your jaw and cheek, you cupped his face and stroked the scar over his lips with your thumb before kissing it gently, wishing that you didn't have to go back soon.

As if right on cue, your phone started buzzing on the table, making Desmond groan and drop down on top of you, mumbling several expletives against your neck. Giggling at his stropping, you rolled him off of you and dragged yourself off the bed, snatching up your phone before it vibrated off the table and answered it with a slightly annoyed tone in your voice.

"What??!"

_"No need to be like that (name), just following orders. William wants you back asap.."_

Ending the call before Rebecca had a chance to say anything else, you cast a lingering glance over Desmond; who was now sat up in the bed and stretching out, before gathering up his clothes that were strewn about the floor and chucking them over to him.


	11. Chapter 11

Holding on to Desmond's hand as you traversed your way down the ramp and inside the Temple, you suddenly froze and squeezed his fingers tightly when the Animus came into view, a wave of apprehension mixed with fear running through your body.

"Hey, hey, come here," Desmond whispered, pulling you into his arms and holding you tightly, resting his lips against your head and kissing you intermittently.

"If it's too much, if you're not ready.."

"No! I mean, it's okay. We've still gotta find that key, and I'm not leaving you."

Giving him a haphazard smile when he let go and brushed his fingers across your cheek, frowning and scrutinizing every little flicker of emotion that washed over your face, you took his hand again and pretty much dragged him the rest of the way, eager to speak to William to see if he had come up with any new information.

"Ah, there you are! You kids have a fun night off?"

You could feel your face getting hotter as Rebecca wiggled her eyebrows at you suggestively, made even worse when Desmond pressed himself up against your back and wrapped his arms around you, rubbing his cheek against your head.

"We did thanks, (names) feeling a lot better now, aren't you."

"Um, yeah. Much better. What have you guys been doing?"

Playfully elbowing Desmond in the stomach and giving him a knowing look as you went to sit down next to Rebecca, you threw him a sly wink when you saw that he had been staring at your ass since you moved away from him.

"Not much, just been going over the recordings of the memories. Shaun here thinks he might have a rough idea of the timeframe that the key was last seen in."

Turning the monitor towards you so you could see it more clearly, you began chewing at your lip when you saw that the years 1781 through to 1783 had been highlighted. 

"Two years?? You weren't kidding when you said _rough._ Couldn't do any better than that genius historian?!"

You and Rebecca snorted in unison as you turned to face Shaun, his attempt to glare at you both contorting his face in a very amusing way, making holding back your laughter almost impossible. Composing yourself quickly when William walked down the steps from the upper level of the temple, your heart sank when you caught his gaze with a hopeful smile, only to receive a subtle shake of his head in return. Turning back to the computer as your eyes began to prickle, you jumped up out of your seat when you saw Desmond out of the corner of your eye, laying down and preparing to go back into the Animus.

"Des, are you sure that's a good idea? What if Juno interferes again?"

Crouching down next to him and gripping his arm firmly when he propped himself up on his elbows, you hoped that he would attribute your mournful expression to fear of the Animus, and not probe for the real reason you were so miserable.

"There's no other choice. We don't have much time left, we've got to find that key. Besides, this temple's not getting turned on without it, so I'm guessing she will leave me be until I do."

Sighing in relief and seeing his logic in the matter, you leaned over and gave him a lingering kiss, smiling against his lips when you heard Rebecca wolf whistle behind you. Shaking your head as he lay back down, his wide smile proved to be very contagious as you started grinning yourself, holding his hand again as he lay back down and closed his eyes. As soon as you were sure he was in the Animus, you clambered back up and headed over towards William, pretending to look at some of the carvings on the wall while he finished his conversation with Shaun. As soon as he was out of earshot, you perched yourself on the edge of the rock that William was stood next to, staring up at him expectantly. After several unnerving moments, you raised your eyebrows when he opened his mouth to say something, frowning when he didn't speak.

"So, nothing?" you blurted out, hoping it would spur him on to say what was on his mind. Shuffling up as he sat down next to you, you dropped your head when he began fiddling with his watch, something you had noticed he tended to do when he was worried or nervous.

"You look better (name), I'm glad that what happened in the Animus didn't have any lingering effects."

"Don't change the subject," you growled, your voice turning softer when you surprised yourself with the amount of anger that came out. "Sorry, guess I'm still a _little_ agitated. I did some digging too, while we were out, could barely make heads or tails out of Shaun's notes though."

Cocking your head to one side when he burst out laughing and patted you on the back, you suddenly realised what he found so amusing, giving him a sheepish grin when he pulled out a notebook from his jacket and jotted something down.

"Yeah, we really should upgrade our security. But I am a hacker, one of the main reasons you recruited me remember."

"Indeed it was (name). I managed to decipher only a fraction of what Shaun had documented, and from what I could make out, it's not good. From what I could tell, activating the Temple requires a certain amount of power. Lifeforce if you would call it that, to unlock the mechanisms to stop the solar flare."

As you sat there only half listening to William's explanation, your stomach churning when your fears had been confirmed, and Juno hadn't been lying to you. Dropping your head in your hands and rubbing your face harshly, your attention snapped back when you heard William calling your name repeatedly.

"What was that? Sorry, mind was elsewhere for a sec."

"Yes, I realised that. I said, you and my son. How long has it been going on for?"

Staring over to where Desmond was laying in the Animus, a small smile twitched at your lips as the warm flutters in your chest multiplied, making you feel considerably hotter than you were a moment ago.

"Not long, about a month or so."

Turning back to William when he took your hand and squeezed it gently, your slight of a smile grew when he looked over you approvingly, before getting up and gesturing for you to follow him back to the others.

"Not as long as I had thought then, but I couldn't be more pleased (name)."

"What do you mean, not as long as you thought?"

Stopping in your tracks and feeling slightly confused at what he had just said, a heavy blush hit your cheeks when you realised he was staring up at the part of the Temple where Rebecca had caught you and Desmond in the act, before turning back to you and giving you a knowing smirk.

"I may be an old man, but don't think I hadn't noticed how you and Desmond have been acting around each other. Even before we arrived here."

You stared at the floor and scuffed the toe of your trainer as a wide grin crept up your face to accompany the further reddening, glancing up to see William chuckle and walk over to Shaun's desk. Taking a deep breath and clearing your throat, you shuffled over to Rebecca, hoping to apologise for your sudden outburst this morning.

"Hey, Becks?" 

She looked up from her computer with raised eyebrows when you reached her desk, giving you a wide grin and jumping up when she saw you stood there looking rather shamefaced. Giggling when she threw her arms around you and gave you a hug so tight that it would put a bear to shame, you wheezed when she finally let go and your lungs filled with air again.

"(Name) look, I know you didn't mean it, no need to apologise. We're all under a lot of stress, and after what you went through? I'd have been the same."

Dragging a chair up so you could sit down next to her, you picked up and fiddled with your headset as you watched Connor running through the docks on the monitor, your heart going ten to the dozen when he jumped onto a ship that had caught fire.

"Yeah, still. I shouldn't have snapped, I'm sorry. Connor finally caught up with Lee then?"

"Yep, looks like our genius historian was almost spot on, for a change." Rebecca almost whispered, glancing around to make sure that Shaun hadn't heard her praise as she knew there would be no living with him if he ever heard her say that.

Stifling a giggle as you put your headset on, you carried on staring at the screen intently as you watched Connor chase Charles Lee, your breath catching in your throat when he had almost caught him up, just as the floor underneath him collapsed from the fire.

"Hey, (name) you okay??"

You still kept one eye on the screen as you turned slightly to Rebecca when she lay her hand on your arm, your own gaze eventually following hers when you saw that the was staring at your hands. Seeing that you were unconsciously gripping on the edge of the desk so tightly that your knuckles were white, and you were on the verge of ripping your nails off, you let go quickly and flexed your fingers, laughing as if it was some kind of joke.

"More thrilling than watching Game of Thrones this is." you chuckled, hoping that you sounded at least half believable. Rebecca narrowed her eyes and looked you up and down as you fidget in your seat, before humming and carried on typing.

"Yeah, I suppose. You gonna let me do those quick tests now you're back? Just to be on the safe side."

Knowing that she wasn't going to give up on the matter anytime soon, you plucked off your headset with an exasperated sigh and gave her a nod, grimacing when she rubbed her hands together and let out an evil cackle.

"Should I be worried that you're enjoying this so much?" you grumbled as she stuck yet _another_ sticky pad on your head and clipped a wire to it.

"I would never, you should know me by now. Look, you could be our Christmas tree!"

You tried to carry on with being annoyed as she spun you around in the chair quickly, but failed miserably when you caught your reflection in the idle screen beside you, bursting out laughing when you saw that she had gone just ever so slightly overboard with the wires. Taking a quick mental count as she booted up her other computer, your giggling continued when you counted fourteen in all.

"If you say so. So what are these tests you want to do? You weren't exactly specific."

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna go all Frankenstein on you, just checking brainwaves and suchlike." she chuckled as she clipped a heart monitor to your finger.

Slumping back in the chair as Rebecca loaded up whatever new programme she had designed to 'check your suchlike', you tried to keep your mind blank as she 'ummed and 'ahhed at the wavy lines appearing on the screen. After about fifteen agonisingly boring minutes, you breathed out a sigh of relief when Rebecca clapped her hands together, before turning to you and giving you a thumbs up.

"Well, it looks like everything is okay. Your brain, for want of a better word, is normal."

Scoffing and grinning as you started to pull off the wires, you suddenly froze when your attention was drawn away to Desmond waking up from the Animus, the computer next to you beeping furiously.

"Wait, (name) what did you just do??"

The beeping stopped as soon as you looked at the screen to see why it was going crazy, your rapid heart rate and irregular brainwaves returning to normal levels quickly. Rebecca looked around when the computer went crazy again as you looked back over to Desmond; who was now stretching out after laying on the cold rock, and began smirking as the noise stopped when you spun back around to face her again.

"Hoooo boy, you got it baaaaaad."

"What on earth are you on about? Got what bad?"

"Humour me for a sec. Close your eyes."

Your brow furrowed in confusion for a moment as she stood there grinning at you, but you decided to play along with whatever game she was concocting, and closed your eyes as you slumped back in the chair. Drumming your fingers on the armrest impatiently, you jumped slightly as the beeping started again, not knowing that Rebecca had dragged Desmond over and stood him a foot away from you. The noise stopped when she pushed him away again, whispering something into his ear as she tried to stifle a giggle. You let out an exasperated sigh when the infernal ringing started again, getting faster when a wide grin spread over your face as you felt a pair of arms wind around you from behind where you were sat. Flicking your eyes open when Desmond gave you a soft kiss on your cheek, you carried on tugging off the wires before the noise drove you insane, glaring at Rebecca as she stood there smirking at you.

"You've made your point. I can understand that one.." you asked confusedly as you pointed to the line that was tracking your heart rate, "But what's that all about?" 

Rebecca sat back down at the desk and started typing something, clicking on the screen and enlarging a section of your erratic brainwaves so she could study them better.

"No idea, but look, your Theta and Alpha waves are off the chart. I'm going to have fun figuring this out." 

Glancing up at Desmond and shrugging your shoulders at the same time as him, you got up and laughed when Rebecca cracked her knuckles and waggled her fingers, getting ready for some intense computer work. Leaving her to it as she was already engrossed in bringing up your past information for comparison, you made your way over to your own desk and sat down, propping your legs up on Desmond's lap as he dropped down into the chair next to you.

"Everything alright in there?"

You started chewing at your lip in slight worry as Desmond rubbed his face and groaned, massaging his temple's before donning a forced smile that you saw straight through in an instant.

"Yeah, it's just exhausting. Connor, he's so angry all the time, and with Isa gone... Well, you can imagine what he's like now. I just need a break before going back in, we're so close, I can feel it."

Taking a deep breath as your chest started to ache at the mention of Isa, reminding you of what you went through in the Animus, you dropped your legs and slid over to sit on his knee, ignoring the gut-wrenching feeling as you knew it wouldn't do any good bringing it up, and draped your arms over his shoulders.

"I can only imagine. Come on, I've got the new Borderlands 2 game on my computer, we can have a bash before you go back in."

Chuckling as his face immediately lit up and a genuine smile tugged at his lips, you jumped up and flicked on your computer, tutting and wiggling your finger at him when he went to reach for your good headphones.

 

 

It took another three days of Desmond going in and out of the Animus before finding the right time and location that you were looking for, Connor finally catching up to and killing Charles Lee making his time in the memories much more bearable. All four of you were riveted to the screen as Connor arrived back on the Davenport Homestead with the elusive key to the Temple, taking in every single detail while he roamed the grounds with a shovel in his hand. You, Rebecca and Shaun let out a whoop of excitement as you watched him partially dig up Connor Davenport's grave, dropping the jade necklace into it and covering it over, William leaning over you all press the key to bring Desmond out of the Animus.

"Well done son. Let's go."

Your excitement was short lived when you remembered what this meant, a cold shiver running down your spine as if death himself had just brushed by you. Snapping out of your morbid thoughts when Desmond wrapped his arm around your waist and breathed a sigh of relief against your head, you raised your chin high and grit your teeth when he followed William to the ramp leading out of the Temple, determined to make the most of whatever time you had left together.

 

Wandering around the grounds by yourself while the others located Connors grave and the key, you suddenly stopped in your tracks as you felt a strange and unknown pull towards a tombstone that was completely grown over with moss and weeds. Dropping to your knees in front of it, you gently brushed your hand over the face of the stone, somehow already knowing whose name was etched into the face of it. A stray tear ran down your cheek when you had cleared enough for the epitaph to be legible, tracing your fingers over the engravings as you read them out loud.

 **Isabella Greene, Mother, Friend, Warrior.** _Konoronhkwa, Isa_

Wiping your face with the back of your sleeve as you felt a hand lay on your shoulder and squeeze gently, you looked up to see Desmond smiling down softly at you, everyone else stood behind him looking like they didn't know what to say.

"Did you find it?"

Pushing yourself up and brushing the dirt off your knees as he held out the jade necklace to show you, you took it in your hand and closed your fingers around it, barely resisting the urge to snatch it away and drop it into a volcano or to the bottom of the ocean.

"Awesome, let's get going, shall we? Before the world gets barbecued."

"Mmmmm, barbecue....."

You and Rebecca burst out laughing at Desmond's comment while William and Shaun rolled their eyes and sighed, making Desmond rub his stomach and lick his lips.

"Is your stomach all you think about?" you sniggered as you poked him in his gut, blushing and biting your lip as he winked at you suggestively.

"Not all, half and half with something else."

Ignoring the scoffs from Rebecca and Shaun as you let go of the necklace and linked your arm through Desmond's; walking back up the hill to where the van was, you stared at the imprint that the key had left on your palm for a moment, before clenching your fist so Desmond couldn't see it.

"Half and half hey? Maybe I should do something to change that." You chuckled, your smile getting wider as his arm squeezed yours more tightly.

 

 

The six hours ride back to the Temple were mostly spent in unnerving silence, much to your dismay, but the apprehension filling everybody made even the slightest of small talk almost impossible to carry out. The only bit of conversation you had was with Rebecca who had sat next to you, having given up her seat so Desmond could have more leg room in the front.

"Hey (name), I've finished playing around with the data I got from your noggin."

"Oh yeah? What did you find out?" 

Leaning over when she turned her laptop towards you and pointed to something on the screen, you raised an eyebrow and shrugged your shoulders when you had no idea what she was showing you.

"Remember when I said your sync waves were close to matching Desmond's whenever you went in the Animus? Well, now they're doing the same OUT of the Animus. It's like you two have some kind of connection or something."

"Okaaaaay, please don't tell me he can read my mind or anything? He'd probably have a meltdown with what goes on in my head!"

Rebecca burst out laughing as she snapped her computer shut, immediately stopping and snorting into her hand when Desmond turned around in his seat and stared at you both quizzically.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing, just woman talk. About cramps." you managed to stutter out through your sniggering, biting your lips together when he just rolled his eyes and turned back to the map he had been looking at.

 

You hung behind when you felt William's hand at the small of your back as the others hurried back down the cave, waving your hand in a shooing motion when Desmond turned back to you, eyebrows raised in confusion. as soon as you were definitely alone, William gave you a brief hug and raised his hand to tilt your chin up, his eyes flickering over your face furiously as he took in your expression.

"You've decided, haven't you. I'm so sorry I wasn't able to find another way.' he whispered almost inaudibly, making the ball of dread in your stomach grow considerably. Nodding softly and squeezing his hand tightly, you gathered all of the courage you could muster and carried on towards the bright glowing door, more determined than ever to go through with what will be, your most certain death.

"I will not let him die."

 

You reached the door just as Desmond pressed the key against a panel; which you all assumed was the the lock for the door, raising your arm to shield your eyes from the blinding white light it emitted before completely disappearing. Grasping Desmond's hand and holding on for dear life as you walked across the platform that the door had revealed, you started trembling when the glowing orb from your dream came into view. Just as you reached it, fierce anger overwhelmed you when Juno appeared beside the column, gazing between you and Desmond expectantly.

_"Yes...come... You are here at last. You know our story, of how we tried, and failed. Activate the Temple... Save your people....."_

Glaring at Juno with as much resentment as you could muster, you took a step forwards, only to be pulled back by Desmond as another voice rang through the air.

**"No, do not! You will free her!"**

You both looked around furiously to see where the other voice had come from, your face scrunching up when you spotted another apparition similar to Juno, but you had never seen her before.

"Minerva?" Desmond asked quizzically, his eyes following the two spectral beings as they conversed. You completely zoned out when they started bickering with each other, your attention only on the pedestal in front of you. _Just touch it, and it will all be over._ You thought to yourself over and over in a futile attempt to psyche yourself into moving, but every one of your muscles seemed to have paralysed in fear. Your attention was dragged back to the conversation when you felt Desmond's hand squeeze yours to the point of almost cutting off your circulation, just catching Juno's last words.

_"It does not matter, (name) has already chosen."_

"What? You knew about this??!! Why didn't you tell me??"

Standing there numbly as he stared at you with a mix of fear and anger, the warm feeling that you had been experiencing lately started growing inside you as you continued to hold his gaze, giving you even more resolve to go through with what you had planned.

"I can't lose you. I won't let you do it." 

"But it's okay for me to lose you? No!"

Looking over to where Juno and Minerva were both still arguing their beliefs to Desmond, you turned to William with pleading eyes, hoping that he would intervene or do something to stop all of this before you lost your nerve.

"Son, there has to be another way. We will find another way!"

"I've made my decision. I want you all to leave," he growled as he shrugged his father's hand that was grabbing his arm off him, before turning to Rebecca and Shaun who had just been standing there, not knowing what to say or do. Watching the others hang their heads in dismay and turn to leave as they knew there was no point in arguing, you stood firmly where you were in defiance, your heart feeling like it was shattering into a million pieces as Desmond took you in his arms gently.

"Go. I have to do this, it's what I was meant to do."

Swallowing hard when the lump in your throat grew and your tears began flowing freely down your face, you tensed your whole body when he went to push you away, still refusing to budge.

"I'm not going anywhere. I will be with you, whatever happens, right till the end. I love you."

"I love you too."

The warm feeling inside you became almost close to burning when he pressed his lips against yours softly before taking the few steps towards the pedestal, your fingertips the last of you to part as he reached it. Watching his hand hover over the orb for a moment before slowly lowering it down as he took one last look at you, your breath caught in your throat as Rebecca's words from earlier rang through your mind. _I don't know what it is, but it's like you two have some kind of connection....._ Trembling furiously and making a split second decision, you launched yourself forwards and stretched out your arm, your hand landing on the orb next to Desmond's just as his palm touched it. You cried out when you felt a massive surge of energy swarm through your body as the familiar beams of light surrounded you, not painfully, but enough so it felt like your blood was being electrocuted. Your vision quickly became cloudy as you turned your head just enough to face Desmond, only just making out his pained expression as everything went black.

 

 

 

Flicking your eyes open and taking in a huge gasp of air as if it was the first time you had ever breathed, you sat up with a start and nearly crashed into William who was crouching over you, looking around frantically as panic began to overwhelm you.

"Easy (Name), we're here."

"What happened? Did we stop it? Wheres Des, is he okay??" you croaked out, clinging onto Williams' arm tightly as you managed to slightly catch your breath. 

William leant back slightly with a weary smile so you could see past him, your eyes finally settling on Desmond who was sitting up, head and arms slumped over his knees. Even though you felt as weak as a newborn baby, you managed to scramble over to him, your eyes widening when he finally looked up at you. His dark hair was now peppered with grey, his face adorned with fine lines that deepened into wrinkles when he smiled at you and threw himself forwards, pulling you in his arms and holding you tightly. He had matured considerably, closer to Williams age now you assumed, but he was alive. You, were alive. Sighing softly when he cupped your chin and brushed his lips against yours, you looked up when William and Rebecca hovered over you both, extending their hands to help you up.

"(Name) what did you do? How is Desmond still alive?" William whispered, afraid that speaking loudly would undo whatever had happened.

Taking Desmond's hands in your own as he looked at you just as puzzled as the rest of them, your brow scrunched up when you saw that both of your right arms had been scorched, the skin almost black.

"It was something Becca said to me that triggered an idea, and what you said too. You said the Temple takes your life, to power it up, and when Rebecca said me and Des had some kind of connection...Well, I figured that if I touched the pedestal at the same time, then we would share the price of activating it."

"Well it worked, the flare has been stopped, and you are both still alive. Although I surmise that your lives have been substantially shortened."

Turning to Shaun when he passed you his tablet so you could see your reflection in it, your jaw dropped when you saw that you had also gotten a lot older, matching the age that Desmond looked now.

"Why did you do it? You could have been killed (name)!"

"It was a risk I was willing to take. I told you, I'm with you till the end."

Desmond's frown melted away as you wrapped your arms around him and buried your head in his chest, smiling when he rested his cheek on you and sighed contentedly. Glancing up at William before the burning in your eyes and throat got any worse, you cleared your throat to stop the cracking in your voice.

"So what now boss?"

"Now? Now we stop Juno."


End file.
